To be a Pokémon Champion
by AncientGengar
Summary: When Louise summons a travelling ex-Pokémon Champion to be her familiar, she gets the opportunity to prove to the world she's not a failure. Rated T for safety.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing.**

Now that that's out the way, hello! So I had this idea floating around in my head for a while and figured I'd try and put it on here. First time I've written anything remotely like this, so imma wing it and see how it goes!

GLOSSARY

"Hi." - Halkegnian language (going to assume it's French)

" _Hi."_ \- Thoughts in Halkegnian language

'Hi.' - Kanto language (going to assume it's Japanese)

' _Hi._ ' - Thoughts in Kanto language

'Hi.' - Spell/Pokémon move

 **-Chapter Start-**

"Are we seriously going to let her try!?"

"There'll just be another explosion, it's a waste of time!"

"They should just send her home and have someone else who can actually use magic take her place!"

Professor Colbert sighed and coughed to get his students attention. "I expect this kind of disrespect and rowdiness from uncouth commoners, not nobility such as yourselves," he said without raising his voice. " _We made him angry,"_ was the collective thought of the class, and quieted down from the shame of being compared in such a manner. "Ms. Vallière, would you kindly perform your summoning spell?"

Louise nodded, not trusting her voice and stepped out into the clearing. After wiping the sweat from her palms on her skirt, she cleared her throat and drew her wand. "My servant that existed somewhere in this vast universe, my divine, beautiful, wise, powerful servant, heed my call, I wish from very bottom of my heart and add to my guidance and appear!"

As the wind picked up and the smoke cleared from yet another explosion, Louise found herself standing in front of a large mound of mud, rocks and vegetation. After a few moments of stunned silence, the Courtyard burst into commotion. "That's more amazing than Flame!?" Kirche asked, clutching her sides as she roared with laughter. "She's summoned nothing - true to her name!"

As Louise stared blankly ahead, Professor Colbert walked up to her. "It may be that you've summoned your familiar and it's immediate surroundings. Why don't you get a little closer and try calling out to it?" he asked gently, nudging her towards her summon. Louise nodded dumbly and started walking forwards. Hesitant to touch the dirt, she called out out to the debris before her. "Familiar! I demand you come out at once!" After waiting a few seconds for a response, she called out again, desperation creeping into her voice. "Familiar, show yourself!"

Suddenly a pair of arms shot of the rubble, and after flexing their hands a few times, started trying to find purchase on the rubble. Startled, Louise stumbled back as her classmates fell silent, wondering not what, but who she had summoned. After the arms had found a solid hold they tensed and pulled, causing a teenager who only looked a year or two older than her to emerge, battered and bruised. After looking around bewildered, he pinched his cheeks several times before sighing and rubbing them gingerly. _'What the hell was in that explosion? I'm either in a coma or I'm in a completely new region - I don't recognise any of the Pokèmon at all!'_

'I swear to Arceus, I'll murder the bastards,' he hissed in pain as he wormed his way out of the rubble. After freeing his feet and pulling his rucksack from the rubble, he slowly started to make his way down towards Louise, muttering all manner of colourful insults and promises of painful recompense under his breath. Louise looked in horror as she realised she had not only summoned a commoner, but one that couldn't even speak their language!

The courtyard was filled with jeers and laughter as they came to same conclusion. Panicking, Louise turned round to face Professor Colbert. "Professor, please let me try the summoning spell again!" she begged, not wanting the shame of a peasant for a familiar. "I'm sorry Ms. Vallière," he replied, shaking his head. "It would be blasphemous to allow you to try again. You must complete the ritual with the ... boy before you," he said, wincing as said boy cried out in surprise as he missed his footing and tumbled down the rubble, landing in a heap at the bottom.

Louise turned back and eyed the boy before her. Although it was hard to see under all the grime, mud and blood, he had similar colour skin to Kirche. His black hair was trying to escape through the holes in his thick woollen hat and as far as commoners went wasn't terribly bad looking either, even with the short beard he was sporting.

'Ahh shit that hurts. Still there?' he asked his shadow quietly, smirking as it moved slightly in response. 'Good, be on guard,' he responded as his brown eyes focused on girl who was approaching him. _'Sounds familiar to the dialect from the Kalos region, let's see if this'll work.'_ He grimaced in pain as he sat up to address her. "I don't suppose you could tell me where I am?" he asked tentatively, licking his lips as he looked nervously around the courtyard.

"Y-You can speak?" asked Louise tentatively as she approached him. "Yeah, you can hear the words coming out of my mouth, can't you?" he asked as he cricked his neck and let out a sigh. She stormed up to him, angry at his apparent lack of etiquette and his slight of her intelligence. "Stupid commoner, why didn't speak properly in the first place!?" Letting out a frustrated sigh, she knelt down in front of him and put both her hands on his face. " _I can't believe this is my divine, beautiful, wise, powerful servant ... he's none of these things!"_

"Be grateful for this commoner," she muttered as a blush crept onto her face. "Pentagon of the Five Elemental Powers, grant your blessings upon this creature and bind it as my familiar" she announced as she closed her eyes and leant in to kiss him. Before she could complete the ritual however, she felt her arms being knocked aside and a hand on her forehead shoving her backwards. "What the hell do you think you're doing!?" he asked angrily as he struggled to stand up. "Shut up!" she screamed as she righted herself. "How dare you touch a noble! you have the privilege of becoming my familiar, be grateful commoner!"

The boy paused in his efforts, breathing heavily as he looked up at her with a pained expression. "Familiar? A little bit of information here would be nice," he said as he started rummaging around in his bag. Before Louise could reply, Professor Colbert cleared his throat and approached the two. "Allow me to explain, Mr. ...?" he trailed off, gesturing towards the boy. "The name's ORANGE," he replied coolly as he eyed the Professor warily. "And you?"

"Professor Colbert, Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière," he replied pointing to himself and Louise as he stated their names. ORANGE nodded in response and motioned for the Professor to continue. "You are currently in the the country of Halkeginia, and have been called upon by Ms. Vallière via The Summoning Ritual to be her familiar." ORANGE frowned as he put his hand up. "Do you have a map I can look at please? 'I'm afraid I don't recognise the name of the country."

Colbert looked sheepish as ORANGE scowled at the cries of disbelief and comments of his dwellings as he pulled out a map before him. ORANGE cautiously picked up the map and studied it intently for a few moments before looking back at Colbert. "This looks completely different to the land I know," he said as he pulled out his own map and laid it out in front of them for comparison. 'Fascinating, imagine the knowledge this young man possesses!' His eyes soaked up the map the boy had laid out before him, noting all the annotations, drawings and icons on the map.

"What is this Summoning Ritual?" ORANGE asked quietly, resting his head in this hands. "It is a sacred magical ritual since the times of Brimir, and it is where a creature - or in Ms. Vallières' case, a person - most suited for the mage is pulled from their current residence and upon completion of the ritual, are bound by magic for life." ORANGE's head swiftly rose from its resting place, his face in disbelief. "Magic!? You gotta be kidding me," he said flatly.

Colbert's face mirrored that of ORANGE, and with a small wave of his staff, summoned a fireball in front of him. "Yes, Mr. ORANGE, magic. We have five elements; earth, air, fire, water and void. However, void is deemed a lost branch of magic and is barely practised - if at all." He said nothing, nodding vaguely to the explanation that had been given to him. The sheen of sweat that he felt on forehead proved to him that the fireball was very real. _'If there were any Pokèmon behind that TAGSIE would've reacted and I'm damn well sure I can spot a trick or two ...'_

"Okay," he said under his breath. "I'll accept your magic," he said as Colbert dismissed the fireball. "So what's your speciality, Ms. Vallière? Seeing as you summoned me in the midst of a landslide, I'm gonna take a swing at earth?" "No," said Louise in a small voice. "Oh? Then what branch do you specialise in?" "I don't," she replied curtly, looking away and balling her fists up. Swede titled his head, confused. "How did you summon me then?" "I don't know," she replied through gritted teeth. He frowned, "how can you not know? Do they not teach you any theory behind the magic? or is it th- "I DON'T KNOW!" she screamed at him, throwing her wand at his face causing him to flinch. "Every time I try to cast a spell, I just get explosions! I was hoping for a dragon, manticore, I'd even settle for a mundane house pet, but instead I get a commoner and a pile of mud! I truly am a Zero," she said bitterly, tears forming in her eyes.

ORANGE examined the wand as she calmed herself down. "Show me," he said quietly as he looked up at Louise, pointed the handle-end towards her. "What?" Louise sniffled as she wiped away her tears. "I want to see your magic." She quickly wiped her cheeks as she accepted her wand back. She cleared her throat and aimed for an empty area of the courtyard. She gave her wand a small flourish as she shouted the spell Fireball. Immediately afterwards the ground shook slightly as a large explosion occurred, leading to smoke filling the area and a crater as a reward for her efforts. Louise's head lowered, her hair covering her eyes as she trembled with anger as jeers and taunts from her classmates reached her ears.

"Amazing," ORANGE whispered to himself. "That's ... Incredible," he said to Louise, looking dumbfounded. "And they call you a failure for that!?" he exclaimed as he pointed to the crater. Louise stared at him, wondering if he had lost all traces of his sanity. "I can't do a simple fireball spell, how is that amazing?" she growled at him. "A mage has their speciality, right? Sure, yours won't be as fancy as someone who can manipulate the elements, but let me tell you this; when it comes down to a fight all you have to do is point, say a word and your opponent will cease to exist," he said, making the accompanying gesture of someone vanishing in a puff of smoke with his hands. "I see that as a much more powerful tool than a simple fireball, especially if it's raining," he smirked at the look on Louise's face. She looked back down at her wand as she thumbed the handle. _"Can I really think of it like that?"_

"Now that that's out the way, why do you keep referring to me as a 'commoner?'" "A commoner is someone who can't perform any magic - someone like you," she said distractedly, gesturing in his general direction whilst looking at her wand. "And that's the only reason?" he asked, eyebrows raised. "Yes, why?" "I ... was a former Champion. In fact, I was a Champion across several regions for a few years," he said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. Loiuse looked up at him, hopeful. "A Champion? Were you a knight? soldier?" "Hmmm, not quite," he said squinting as he scratched his beard. "But I am far from common as you and your peers seem to keep suggesting."

ORANGE sighed as he looked back at Colbert. "If a summons refuses to complete the ritual with the summoner, what then? Do you 'persuade' them to do so?" Colbert looked uncomfortable at the question and didn't respond immediately, taking a few moments to compose his answer. "It is the summoner's duty - and the teacher's obligation to help - complete the ritual. If they fail, the summoner is expelled from the Academy." "Would you condemn me to a life of servitude, knowing that I have friends and family just so you don't get expelled?" he asked as he stared intently at her.

Louise flinched and looked away. "No, I can't," she said after a short while, raising her head to meet his gaze. "But I can't get expelled either ... what would you have me do?" she asked him desperately. ORANGE held his gaze and studied Louise before reaching back into his bag. "Professor Colbert, I would like to propose something that would be mutually beneficial for the three of us," he announced as he pulled out strange looking ball; it was the size of a large orange, but had two hemispheres of red and grey colour with a black band bisecting the two and button in the middle. "However, I need a second opinion before I suggest it. EDDIE, your council is required mate," he said to the ball as he depressed button. Suddenly, the ball opened and a red light shot out before taking shape.

As the light took up a shape next to ORANGE and faded away, the temperature of the courtyard shot up. It revealed a large draconian-looking creature, with orange skin, a creamy underbelly that travelled from the bottom of the neck to the end of it's tail and teal undersides of it's large wings. A large flame was burning at the tip of it's tail as it swung it round in front of ORANGE, seemingly sheltering him from the people in front on him after taking note of his injuries. It growled threateningly as it spotted Colbert with his staff raised, spreading his wings and glaring at him. "This guy here is EDDIE, my oldest friend," he said happily as he patted the tail in front of him. EDDIE reluctantly moved his tail away as he inspected the rest of the courtyard, his eyes narrowing as he spotted the other summons in the clearing. "Relax Professor, he perfectly safe - unless you attack him, of course."

Louise stared at him, her mouth agape as she raised a shaky hand at the creature before her. "Y-you have a dragon!?" "Dragon?" he asked, looking confused. "He isn't a dragon; he a fire salamander who just so happens to fly. You never seen one before?" "No, that can't be a fire salamander! That's one there!" she exclaimed, pointing at Kirche's summon. Kirche shrunk under the glare of the creature before her and her words died in her throat as Flame quailed and hid behind her legs. "Well, if that's the case mine's more impressive, no?" Louise nodded dumbly as she continued to stare at it.

"EDDIE, meet Louise," he said pointing at the girl before him. EDDIE brought his gaze from the large blue dragon onto Louise, who was now standing to attention and sweating from the heat. His lip curled upwards into what looked like a smirk, exposing the large teeth that laid behind it. "She needs our help, but I need to know - can we trust her?" EDDIE glanced back at ORANGE for a moment before nodding and lowering himself to study Louise. Louise looked nervously into his blue eye before her gaze was broken when EDDIE inhaled, causing her hair to flap wildly about her face. He slowly circled the poor girl, occasionally nudging her with his snout and sniffing her every so often. After inspecting her for what seemed like hours he rose back onto his hind legs, looking back down at his trainer. "Well?" ORANGE asked expectantly, looking up at him "Has she got your golden seal of approval?" EDDIE grinned as he roared, letting loose a stream of fire into the sky.

ORANGE matched his grin as he turned to Louise. "I won't be your familiar. But, I will help you get something so much more rewarding than one. The caveat is you'll have to study under us. We will all push you hard, but you must also be patient, studious and do what we tell you to do without complaint. Endure the training along with the hardships and I promise you, it will be worth it in the end - more so than this magic that you've come to use as a crutch. My name's ORANGE," he smiling as he extended his hand out to Louise. "Do you accept the terms and conditions?" Louise wiped her hands on her skirt before walking up to Orange, still keeping a wary eye on Eddie as he huffed and attempted to looked disinterested. "My name's Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière and I accept your conditions," she said shaking his hand.

"Great! Now, any chance you could take me to a doctor please? I think I've fractured a few bones and I need to name a few of these bruises."

 **-Chapter End-**

Thank you for reading, hope you've enjoyed it! Any reviews would be much appreciated.

Edit 1  
Changed Story Start/End to Chapter Start/End.


	2. Chapter 2

**To be a Pokémon Champion - Chapter 2**

 **DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING.**

Wow, over 600 views, 29 followers and 19 favourites! Thank you all for taking the time to read the first chapter! *bows* I hope this one lives up to your expectations.

Thanks to juatim for beta'ing for me, I really appreciate it!

Shout out to Bass and Relden Calder, who have helped me in forming this chapter and have been incredibly supportive and guiding me through my writing - I owe you guys a pint when I head back down your way!

Descriptions of Pokémon come from Bulbapedia.

Review Responses

Little Lady Otaku \- I've mentioned the names of ORANGE's team below, can you guess what Pokemon they are?

xbox432 \- She's going to catch her starter, no eggs.

zath9 \- Thank you, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Guest Sept 30 \- You guessed right!

-Chapter Start-

"Man, your magic is really something else!" exclaimed ORANGE as he lay in bed whilst the nurses performed several healing spells on him. "I thought I'd be confined to this bed for at least a week or two - It's like magic!" "It is," stated Colbert drily as he, Osmond and Louise observed the child-like wonder on his face. He cleared his throat before continuing. "Your training plan for Louise is rather ... lacking in both detail and duration. There's almost two more terms remaining for her, and I doubt Headmaster Osmond here will sign off your plan when such information is scarce."

ORANGE grimaced as he propped himself up on his pillows, despite the protests of his nurses. "Cut us some slack will yah? We've only just agreed on the terms and you already want a detailed schedule? How long does it take you to come up with an entire syllabus for this place?" he challenged, looking between Colbert and Osmond. "Usually, we update the ones that my staff currently teach," said Osmond, stroking his beard. "An entirely new subject is created over the course of a year or more with careful planning and finding practical applications for the students." "Then why are you asking me to come up with all of that on the spot using what I've learned over 12 years when it takes all of your combined knowledge and experience over a year?" ORANGE asked, frustrated.

"Because you proposed it, we only thought you had some basic schedule you yourself had kept to while you were on your way to becoming a Champion," said Colbert as he raised his hands in a placating manner. ORANGE stared at him before sighing and running a hand through his matted hair. "You had a very basic overview of Pokémon as part of the core curriculum when you were a child. By the time you were 10, if you chose to become a Trainer, you had to be linked with a Professor or a Champion who will vet your capability."

"If you passed the checks, you then have two options. The first option is to enrol in an Academies. They range from teaching the basics from primary school level to advanced battle strategies, biology, ecology, archaeology blah blah blah at more advanced institutions. There are a few of those dotted around, all very prestigious and all unbelievably difficult to get into; you not only had to show you had the intelligence, but the drive to be a person who will accomplish feats - whether they be in battles or research - that will go down in history. Passing through one of these would give you the same qualifications as defeating the 8 Gyms."

"The second option was receiving your starter Pokémon and getting on your bike to defeat the 8 Gym Leaders sanctioned by the League. There is one allowed per metropolitan area, and each one has a Gym Leader who is the most powerful trainer in a given Gym. In doing so, you were rewarded a Badge for your efforts. Choosing the Gym route was tough, especially when the type I picked only had the advantage over one and weak against three. Yes, I know, I could've picked a balanced team that would've succeeded against Gyms, but I like Fire-type Pokémon, so there. That's not to say I only have Fire-Types in my Box - I'd be a fool to only travel a single type across the region."

"There's so much she needs to learn, studying all of it at a desk will set her back time she can't afford to lose. It's quicker for her to learn the basics, make a decision on the starting type and I can tailor the learning on the fly." He reached into his jacket, pulling out a small purse and handing it to Louise. She opened it and gasped as she saw several badges, gleaming and pristine. "They're beautiful ... why do you have more than 8?" "Because I went around several regions and defeated all the Gyms. I wasn't content with settling for my region, I wanted to be the best Trainer in the world and be a Champion in every region."

"After you graduate from the more advanced institutions or you get your 8 Badges, you are then allowed to challenge the Elite Four. These trainers are regarded as the best in the region, short of the Champion. You have to defeat these Four in sequence with no opportunity to rest in-between. If you succeed, you then have the chance to challenge the Champion. Even if you beat them you can't just call yourself a Champion - you must be willing to carry their responsibilities around the region. Resolving Pokémon or political disputes, hosting seminars, teaching the younger generation about becoming a Trainer, aiding research and development and promoting the League are all part of the job."

"But before all-yes?" ORANGE turned to the nurse on his left as she tapped his shoulder gently. "We need you to remove your shirt so that we can make sure that you've been fully healed." He drew in a breath, looking hesitant at the request. "Is it necessary?" he asked quietly, glancing at three sitting before him. The nurses nodded. "Yes. If you want, we can ask them to leave to give you some privacy?" ORANGE mulled it over before shaking his head. "No. Perhaps it's better she sees..." He sighed as he started to remove his body warmer, gloves and long-sleeved turtleneck jumper.

As he pulled off his jumper, there was a dark outline of a burn that had once covered most of his chest, snaking its way up his neck and around his right arm. While the skin enclosed by the outline appeared to be fine, it was a shade lighter than the surrounding skin. Had it not been for the outline, it would've been almost un-noticeable. "Is that it?" asked Louise, unimpressed. "You wanted me to see a birthmark?" ORANGE chuckled to himself as he absentmindedly scratched his chest. "If that's what you see it as, I'm happy with that." Colbert placed a hand on Louise's shoulder, gesturing to ORANGE's chest with a nod of his head once he had her attention. "That's not a birthmark Ms. Vallière, that's the remnant of a rather large burn. May I ask how you received such a thing?"

There was a long silence as ORANGE mulled over the response. "Raising and training Pokémon is dangerous" ORANGE said quietly, playing with his sheets as the nurses continued to check him over. "You have to be constantly aware of your Pokémon's mood and behaviour, as well as keeping yourself out of any unecessary trouble with the wild ones or any unscrupulous groups or Trainers. EDDIE was my starter; when I started raising him, he was obedient, happy and eager to spend time with me. However, as my team started to grow in numbers and strength, I started to do rotations to allow everyone to gain the necessary battle experience and exposure. As EDDIE grew in size and strength, he became resentful that he had missed some of the higher profile matches. He began to disobey my instructions, choosing to be too aggressive and showing off during battles."

"The tipping point came when he tried to kill a fellow Trainer's Pokémon after it had fainted because it had landed a hit on him during the battle. Luckily it was a double battle, so Lee managed to protect both the Pokémon and Trainer as I tried to calm him down. However, he snapped and turned his anger on me. EDDIEs' species never turn their flame on someone weaker than them, but in my case he made an exception. Although he missed me thanks to Lee, his flames were hot enough to cause this," he said, gesturing to himself. "The rest of my team came out after hearing my screams and beat him into submission while the Trainer went to get help." He sighed as he looked down at his arm, flexing his hand.

"So why didn't you terminate him?" asked Colbert curiously. "Any creature attempting to kill their master would have been put down immediately." "Because they are not familiars; they are family. You eat, sleep, train and fight beside them. Whether it's a win, loss or draw we're always together through it all, supporting each other as we go. When you have a family member who's made a mistake, do you not sit down with them and work to understand them and resolve their issues or do you cast them aside immediately and continue on with your life as if they never existed?"

"I pulled a few strings and cut a deal; if I couldn't resolve my issues with EDDIE within 6 months after my recovery, I'd have to put him down personally. My team, mother and friends were in much the same mind as you - they wanted him dead for what he tried to do. I couldn't bring myself to do it - how could I kill my oldest friend, my brother who had been with me through thick and thin without even trying to work at our grievances? We worked at it; started off under League and team supervision, and progressed to the point where we are now. Things are still awkward between all of us, even after so many years."

"All this happened because I grew complacent in my own training and failed to see what was happening to my team as I blindly pushed towards my goal. First on the cards is to assess your physical state before I start teaching you the theory. From what I understand you take to theory like a Magikarp to water, so I'd like to address the other side of your training first. Of course, you'll never be able to match the speed of an Arcanine, take a hit like a Chansey or swim like a Golduck. But, put in the effort and you'll find that it pays dividends when a wild Pokémon ambushes you, the bridge that you're crossing collapses and you have to swim in raging currents or when one of your team decides you'd be better medium-rare, for example."

"Erm ... neither my stamina, strength or speed are the greatest," said Louise, chuckling nervously. "And that's OK," ORANGE replied, smiling. "We'll work on a routine for you so you can get yourself fit, and then we'll look into getting your starter after we've covered the basics." Louise's face brightened at the mention of receiving a starter. "Will you give me one? What type will I get?" "I won't be deciding your type - that will be up to you. As I mentioned earlier, I picked Fire types because I liked them. After we cover the basics, you'll have an idea as to what type suits you best. After that, we'll go find some wild Pokémon for you to catch."

Osmond frowned. "And how will you do that? How do you know if there are any Pokémon is this dimension?" "I don't," replied ORANGE simply. "Call it a hunch - if I can make through to here, I'm assuming others have done the same, whether it be through Arceus's volition or one of your mages. In regards to catching them, I have more than enough Pokéballs to help Louise get started." ORANGE yawned and looked out the window. "So with the afternoon almost over, what are my living arrangements?"

Osmond and Colbert glanced at each other before looking back at ORANGE. "Well ... it's normally customary for the familiar to sleep in the same quarters as their master. At such short notice, I'm unsure as to whether we have any spare guestrooms for you; we have quite a few of the parents of the second years staying at the moment to cast their eye over their children's summons." "Well be sure then," said ORANGE flatly, crossing his arms. "In our culture, people of the opposite gender only share rooms if they are extremely close or are in a relationship. Me and Louise are neither. Find me a room, or I'm camping outside."

Osmond put his hands up to placate the irritated man in front of him. "I will ask my secretary to see if there are any rooms available." ORANGE nodded. "I appreciate the effort. In terms of the rest of the items; food, water, baths and whatnot - do I need to pay for them? I have a small amount of gold, stardust and gems that could be converted into your local currency to pay my way." "That won't be necessary," Osmond replied, waving his hand. "You teaching Louise will be more than enough to cover that. I will look into the conversion rates and advise you accordingly. One thing i would like to ask of you - may I study your Pokémon under your supervision?"

ORANGE grimaced as the thought. "If I said yes, I couldn't guarantee your safety. I have to introduce you to them first, and it is they who will make that decision, not me. If I came up to you and started prodding you with a stick because Louise asked me to see if you were ticklish, I'd say you'd magic me to some Arceus-forsaken mountain range in the middle of winter, wouldn't you?" Osmond and Colbert laughed at the thought. "I understand, I'll wait till you and your team have settled down." ORANGE bowed his head. "Thank you. I will speak with them and and I will introduce you to those who are keen on meeting you."

"In terms of dinner, the main hall will be open soon. Once the nurses have given you the all-clear, you can follow Louise to the hall, and she can give you some recommendations based on your tastes. Me and Osmond will go ahead to check on the rest of our students and their respective familiars. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to approach us," Colbert said, extending his hand. ORANGE reached over and shook it warmly. "Thanks for all that you've done for me, I'll bear that in mind. Be seeing you soon Professor, Headmaster," he said, nodding in his direction. Osmond nodded back as they both turned and made their way out of the medical wing, talking amongst themselves as they went.

The was a comfortable silence between the four people left in the wing before one of the nurses spoke up. "Excuse me," the nurse started, causing ORANGE to jump. "the treatment has been completed, but in regards to your burn, we can heal the wound if you like?" ORANGE stared at the nurse, causing her to squirm under his gaze. "You can do that?" he asked quietly, looking down at his chest. "Yes, our magic is very versatile and can heal all but the most grievous of wounds." He closed his eyes for a few moments before breathing out heavily through his nose. "As much as I'd like to take you up on your offer, I'm afraid I'm going to have to decline. I would like to keep this as a reminder, if that's alright with you."

The nurses smiled. "Of course! But if you ever change your mind, please come and speak to us." ORANGE nodded. "Thank you for your help this afternoon," he said earnestly as they nodded and walked away. As he began to get dressed, he motioned for Louise to come stand by his legs. "So, what time does dinner start? I'd like to introduce you to the rest of the team after we've eaten." "It starts in half an hour," she glanced at her watch before looking back at him curiously. "So how many Pokémon do you have?" ORANGE leaned over the bed and reached into his large bag. "If you're sanctioned to fight in the League, you are only allowed 6 Pokémon on your person at any one time. Because I'm retired from the League and a former Champion, it grants me certain benefits. Such as being able to go over that 6 Pokémon limit."

After some rummaging around, he pulled out a small, grey box that looked as if it had definitely seen better days. "Of course, when I'm challenged for a battle I must pick my 6 that I will be fighting with against the opposing Trainer. I have an additional four on top of the standard 6 to allow rotations between team members. TAGSIE is techincally not mine; he decided all on his own to make my life a misery," he grumbled as he opened the box, placing it near the foot of his bed. Inside there were 9 Pokéballs, all in immaculate condition. "EDDIE, LEE, NOAH, INARI, HATHOR, JACK, DAISHI, GWGRI, PYTHIA and FUEGO," he smiled, gently running his hand over the Pokéballs as he spoke their names.

"ORANGE," she started but tailed off, looking down as she fingered NOAH's Pokéball. "Yes?" He craned down, trying to see her face, worried. "I'm sorry," she said quietly, her lip trembling. "For taking you away from your home." ORANGE sighed as lent back, the look of worry replaced by one of relief. "You had me there!" he said with a huff of laughter. Louise looked up shocked. "But you're-" "You did nothing wrong," he interupted, waving her protest off. "You used a spell that you didn't expect to work and it pulled me through what looks like the fabric of space and time here to get you out of your funk. Besides, logic dictates that I got here, I must be able to get back," he said shrugging. "If I can't ... I'll deal with it then."

"I noticed in the courtyard that you seemed to be upset at the comments your peers were directing at you. Don't judge your worth by the status you hold, but by your words and actions to others." He grimaced as he eased himself out of bed and into the chair next to him, bending over to fit his boots. "Because you thought my freedom was more important than your place here at the Academy, I hold you in high regard. Of course, you may think that a plebeian's opinion doesn't count for much, but you should only care for the opinions of those that you hold dear."

"There are only three people who's opinions I truly care for; my rival, my childhood friend and my mother. My time was spent racing through regions to achieve my goal, and because of it I never really get the chance to form bonds with anyone else. In addition to that, destroying the dreams of fellow Trainers doesn't really endear you to them," he chuckled as he remembered some of the more creative threats that came his way over the years. He scuffed his heels on the ground before eagerly jumping up out of the seat and cracking his back. Surprised at the sudden movement, Louise's finger forced the Pokéball out of its indentation and it hit the floor after bouncing off the sheets. It lay still for a moment before suddenly increasing in size and bursting open.

The red light faded away, revealing ORANGE's second Pokémon. What looked like a very large large dog crossed with tiger was now sniffing Louise. Its diamond-shaped ears twitched as it made its way around Louise, keenly observing the medical wing in which they were in. There were large amounts of beige fur on the Pokémon; it's head, muzzle, and chest were covered shaggily, with large tufts of the stuff sprouting from behind the knees and ankles. Even the large bushy tail was also of the beige variety, bent sharply in the middle. "Louise, meet NOAH," he said, guesting to both of them as she reached out to its mane. "So soft," Louise murmured as she sank into its chest, sighing contently. "And warm! Why did you name him NOAH?" she asked, her voice muffled by the volume of fur. "NOAH's a she," ORANGE said, laughing at the reaction on Louise's face. NOAH lowered her head and nuzzled Louise's back, breathing in deeply as she took in her scent.

"Shall we make our way over to dinner?" he asked, reaching over to the box and snapping it shut.

-Chapter End-

Thanks again for reading this chapter, any feedback would be much appreciated!


	3. Chapter 3

**To be a Pokémon Champion - Chapter 3**

 **DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING.**

First off, sorry for the delay in getting this chapter out! Hopefully it won't take me another 5 months to write the next chapter :P

Over 2000 views, 30 Favourites and 41 Follows! Don't know what to say other than thank you! *bows*

Once again, shout out to Bass and Relden Calder for helping me with this chapter and juatim for beta'ing.

GLOSSARY

"Hi." - Halkegnian language (going to assume it's French)

" _Hi."_ \- Thoughts in Halkegnian language

'Hi.' - Kanto language (going to assume it's Japanese)

' _Hi._ ' - Thoughts in Kanto language

'Hi.' - Spell/Pokémon move

*Hi* - Signing

REPLIES TO REVIEWS

Xbox432 – Thank you! Having read back through the chapters, I see what you mean. I've tried to separate the dialogue in this chapter, hopefully it's a little clearer this time!

Ddragon1 – ORANGE doesn't have any Eeveelutions. I'm giving him Pokémon that I've run with in my team while playing through the games, and I've always used Ninetails and/or Arcanine over Flareon. His team is as follows;

EDDIE - Charizard

LEE- Blaziken

NOAH - Arcanine

INARI - Ninetails

HATHOR - Volcarona

JACK - Chandelure

DAISHI - Darmanitian

GWGRI - Houndoom

FUEGO - Camerupt

PYTHIA - Delphox

TAGSIE - Gengar

However, that doesn't mean there won't be one later on in the fanfic, I'll play it by ear and see how it goes :)

SilverstormXD – Not as awesome as you :D

Lord Sigfry – I figured if ORANGE wants to teach Louise he was going to have to give a fairly detailed explanation to Osmond and Colbert if they were going to accept his proposal. That being said, I see your point and I'll try and spread it out in the future.

KunnegAndris – Thanks! I hope you'll like this chapter too!

Gojosin – Thank you!

Descriptions of Pokémon come from Bulbapedia.

 **-Chapter Start-**

After the nurses had released ORANGE from the hospital wing, Louise had given herself the role of navigator and was currently sat on top on NOAH directing the three of them towards the main hall. Whilst walking towards their destination, ORANGE would occasionally stop ask Louise about the various paintings and suits of armour that adorned the hallways they passed through, interested in the history and craftsmanship behind them.

As they walked into the main hall, ORANGE was stunned at the length of the three tables and the amount of staff serving the students. As they walked towards the end of the hall, ORANGE was grateful that the curious looks and hushed whispers were directed towards NOAH rather than himself. "We'll sit here," Louise stated as they reached the end of the middle table. He nodded in agreement and set his bag next to table.

"I don't know about you, but I'm looking forward to a dinner with all the bells and whistles!" ORANGE said excitedly, grunting as he sat down on the chair opposite Louise and swung his legs under the table. It had only been three months since he started travelling again after a long stay at home, and he had started missing his mother's home cooking the moment he had started to forage and catch dinner for himself after two weeks. NOAH growled in agreement and laid down behind him, her head still visible to Louise.

Louise raised an eyebrow as she lent on the table. "Really? When was the last time you had a cooked meal?"

"Thankfully I'm surrounded by Fire types, so I've never had to eat anything raw – yet" he replied, chuckling to himself. "In terms of a proper three course meal? It's been a while." Scratching his beard as he thought back to the last time he ate at a table. "It was probably just before I left home. I had to stay back an extra day to nurture the food baby," he said, smiling at Louise's chortles. "What's the food like here?"

"Ah, well our head chef here is one of the best in the country," Louise said proudly, puffing out her chest. "Of course, he'd have to be in order to feed all these nobles," she gestured to her fellow colleagues in the hall. "Everyone tends to eat the same thing, unless your benefactor has paid the school to account for your specific tastes."

"So that would explain why some people had different dishes compared to the others as we walked past." He glanced up the table to see the impressive variety of dishes being served by the staff. Catching the eye of one of them, he motioned for her to come across so they could be served. Louise sat up and cleared her throat to address the approaching maid.

"Hello Ms. Vallière," said the black haired maid respectfully, stealing a glance at ORANGE as she bowed slightly. "How may I help?"

"Hello Siesta," Louise replied smoothly, nodding in return. "I would like both myself and Mr. ORANGE here to be served dinner please."

"Of course," Siesta nodded and turned around on her heels to go and fetch their meals.

ORANGE waited till the maid was out of earshot before leaning back in. "So, tell me a little about yourself Louise. All I really know of you is that you're a noble, you create explosions at the wave of a stick and you want to be a Pokémon Trainer."

"Well, I'm 16 years old and the youngest daughter out of three, born to Duke de La Vallière and Duchess de La Vallière," she replied, pouring herself some water and offering the jug to ORANGE. "I enjoy knitting, horse riding and all things sweet."

"You're 16? Wow, I'm totally an old man," he joked, relieving her of the jug.

"Why? How old are you?" she asked, curious.

"I'm 24, started being a Trainer at the grand old age of 10." Chuckling at the look on Louise's face, he set the jug back onto the table.

"You've accomplished so much already," she said quietly, clenching her fists. "Do you think I have the potential to reach anywhere near your level?"

ORANGE eyed her for a while before clearing his throat. "To give you an idea of my level, you remember the Elite Four I mentioned, yes? Good," he smiled when Louise nodded. "They're the equivalent to the strength of 9 to 10 Trainers who are League-capable. And I'm on a level above that," he gestured using his hands. "In time? Maybe. Depends on how you take up your training and how dedicated you are."

"I'll be the best!" she said fiercely, glaring at him.

ORANGE laughed as he put his hands up in a placating manner. "I have faith in you, I wouldn't have agreed otherwise! I do recommend taking up sewing as it will be very useful skill for you to have – I can't begin to tell you the amount of times I had to patch my clothing," he said, chuckling to himself. "Although, that's more to do with my choice in Pokémon more than anything else. Looks like our food has arrived," nodding in the direction of Siesta.

They both lent back as Siesta placed the serving tray on the table and placed dishes in front of them, along with a breadbasket. "Please enjoy your meal," she said, curtsying and backing away from the table.

"Thank you," ORANGE and Louise said in unison as they both picked up a spoon. "So, what is th – can I help you?" he asked as he found NOAH staring at him beside his shoulder. After a few moments, the proverbial penny dropped and the look of realization turned into irritation as he shielded his meal with his arms from NOAH's view. "No, go get your own food, this is mine. Shoo!" he said, gesturing with his head.

NOAH looked unimpressed with his suggestion and after putting a paw on ORANGE's chest, slowly began to push downwards. "Wha-Stop!" Orange tried in vain to push the paw off before grunting in pain as both he and the chair landed on the floor with a clatter. While her owner was trying to writhe his way from under her paw, NOAH finished his dinner in two licks, looking rather smug as both Louise and Siesta failed to hide their amusement at ORANGE's predicament.

"Stupid mangy mongrel, I should've left you at Daycare," he muttered angrily as he pulled his chair up and sat back down in a huff. "No, none of that," he snapped as he pushed a nuzzling Noah away from him.

"Awww, she's just hungry," Louise cooed as she leant over and scratched her behind the ear.

Orange rolled his eyes, unimpressed. "Don't encourage her." Before he got the chance to order a second bowl, they were interrupted by a condescending voice.

"Well well well, looks like even the mighty 'Champion' can't even keep their mutt under control." ORANGE turned round to see a few of the students stood behind a blonde haired student brandishing a rose. Quirking an eyebrow, he turned back to Louise as she heaved a long suffering sigh.

"You know him?" he asked, pointing a thumb behind him.

"Unfortunately yes," she replied quietly, rubbing her forehead. "His name is Guiche de Gramont, Earth mage. Known for his bronze golems and flirting with the opposite gender."

"Guiche? Who names their child after a pastry?" he asked, frowning.

Louise smirked as she looked back up at him, steepling her fingers on the table before her. "Ah, you're thinking of Quiche. Guiche is spelt with a G."

"Gotcha. So, equivalent to STEEL types, eh?" he muttered under his breath. He pulled a sturgeon face and nodded. "I can work with that," he intoned as he reached into the breadbasket.

"What are you whispering about over there? Don't you have anything to say plebian?" Guiche shouted loudly, drawing the attention of the rest of the hall.

ORANGE stood up and after spinning the chair on its leg, he sat back down facing Guiche, resting his folded arms on the top of its back. "None of your business and not really," he replied, wearing a bored expression. "I am pretty hungry though," he said as he bit into the bread and tore it half.

"As expected," Guiche replied as he flourished his wand. "You are clearly incapable of controlling such beasts! It should fall upon those more talented to tame them," he said, earning nods and shouts of agreement amongst his peers.

ORANGE cocked his head as he took another bite out of the bread. "Go on."

"What?"

"Go on, try it. See if NOAH will obey you," he said, guesting to said Pokémon with the loaf of bread.

Guiche looked stunned before a smirk worked its way onto his face. "And if she does?"

"She – as well as the rest of my team - are all yours," he replied smoothly, finishing off the bread and dusting his hands. "Her name's NOAH, by the way."

Grinning, he cleared his throat and pointed the rose at the Pokémon beside Louise.

"NOAH! Come here at once!" NOAH took one look at the caller before huffing and setting herself beside the table. After a few moments a deep rumbling sound was heard coming from her, a clear indication that she had fallen asleep.

"W-what!? I said come here, not fall asleep!" said Guiche, flustered as ORANGE roared with laughter and his classmates started to snigger. "Why isn't she responding?" he demanded.

ORANGE shrugged in response. "Don't look at me, you're the one who's supposed to be more talented than I - maybe you're not as worthy as you think you are."

"You-You told her beforehand not to obey me!"

"I said nothing of the sort – a fact Louise and Siesta will back me up on. She took one look at you and knew that you neither intelligent nor capable enough to guide her in battle. That's not my fault, maybe you should look into that."

Guiche bristled at his words. "Then I challenge you to a duel, and I'll show you exactly what a Mage is capable of," he replied, his voice shaking in anger.

"Duels are forbidden Guiche, have you forgotten that rule?" Louise said angrily as she stood up and knocked her chair over.

"In any case, I decline," ORANGE countered, waving his summons away. "I've been in this country for less than 24 hours and I have no intention of getting into a battle so soon."

"Only duels between nobles are forbidden, a duel between a plebian and a noble presents no problems," Guiche replied smugly. "Or are you afraid you'll lose the mercenary you've hired?"

ORANGE scowled as he held up a hand to stop Louise from replying. "So let me get this straight. You want to have a duel with me? A person who has no access to magic or weapons training to speak of. Something which I assume, you've had some form of experience in?" he asked his challenger, receiving a cautious nod in reply. "That's not very … _noble_ of you now, is it?"

"A commoner like you needs to learn their place!"

"And under Louise's tutelage I'm sure I will, but until such time where I have been suitably educated please sit your arse back down and shut the hell up."

"Why-"

"Why are you still talking?" ORANGE shouted, exasperated. He whistled, stirring NOAH. She rose slowly, shaking herself awake as she trotted over to him. "You ever wonder what a Mage tastes like?"

She shook her head.

"You do now," he snapped. "If he keeps talking and stops me eating my dinner, I want him done medium-rare. Dibs on the ribs." They stared at Guiche, with a hungry look in their eyes whilst smacking their lips.

He paled and slowly backed away.

After there was enough distance between them and Guiche, ORANGE turned back round to Louise and Siesta, both wearing identical looks of horror.

"I was only joking," he said off-handedly, helping himself to another piece of bread. "Now, we can eat in peace. Miss Siesta, could I please have another serving of dinner?" She nodded dumbly as she slowly walked off. "You're going to need to bring me up to speed on the social hierarchy of this place and who to avoid," he said, biting down on the bread.

"You really weren't going to eat him?"

He grimaced as he rubbed his stomach. "I'd get indigestion."

Louise snorted and burst out laughing. "I'm going to remember the look on his face for a long time."

He smiled wryly. "I suspect you and few other people will."

As Siesta arrived with his second serving of dinner and set it on the table, he picked up his cutlery once more. "Sorry to keep you waiting Louise. Tuck in!" As he made to skewer his dinner, the plate suddenly moved out the way.

Raising an eyebrow, he retrieved the plate and made to stab at his dinner, only for the plate to evade him again. He began to chase his meal around the table with his fork, only for the plate to tip on the edge of the table and empty its contents onto ORANGE's shadow. But instead of the food covering the floor, a mouth suddenly appeared within the shadow and disposed of the food before it reached its intended destination.

Stabbing his fork into the table, he reached down and grabbed his shadow, causing it to shudder. Grunting, he pulled and revealed a dark purple bipedal … thing that was only slightly taller than Louise.

"What. Is that?" Louise said after a few moments of staring at the being he had just pulled out of seemingly thin air.

"This," he said, shaking it, "Is TAGSIE. TAGSIE, Louise." The creature turned to Louise and stared at her with its red eyes before a rather sinister grin spread across his face. "Give me my dinner," he demanded, shaking it once more. In response, TAGSIE opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue revealing an empty cavity. ORANGE groaned as he dropped the Pokémon to the floor and banged his head on the table. "I'm never going to have my dinner," he mumbled into the wood as TAGSIE saluted Louise and disappeared back into the shadows.

"There there," Louise said gently as she reached over and patted his shoulder. "At least you can finish off the breadbasket."

* * *

After dinner was finished, the five of them made their way out to the main courtyard where Louise had summoned ORANGE earlier in the day. Walking ahead of them, he stopped and turn round to face them. After motioning for them to stop, he reached into his jacket and pulled out his Pokéball case. He whistled a tune and the 9 remaining Pokéballs increased in size and opened, sending beams of red light across the clearing where they started to take shape.

As the lights cleared, they each revealed a different Pokémon. "Louise and Siesta, meet LEE, INARI, HATHOR, JACK, DAISHI, GWGRI, PYTHIA and FUEGO," He said, pointing to them as he went through the list of names. "Of course, you've already met EDDIE, NOAH and TAGSIE. This is my team plus one," he said grandly, making a sweeping gesture. "Team, meet Louise," he said, point at Louise. "I will be teaching her to become a Pokemon Trainer. As you have done with me, protect her from harm and guide her in her endeavours to become someone great."

"H-Hello! My name's Louise de La Vallière and I'm looking forward to working with you all!" she said quickly, bowing. ORANGE nodded as the team approached her. "EDDIE and NOAH have vouched for her. Of course, that doesn't mean you have to trust her straight off the bat, but I do expect you to familiarise yourself with her before making that call," he said seriously, making eye contact with all of them. They all met his gaze and nodded once in response. Clapping his hands once more, he looked around for Siesta. "Ms. Siesta, while Louise gets to know them all a little better, would you mind taking me to Headmaster Osmonds' room please? There's a few things I'd like to ask him, primarily of which is where I will be sleeping tonight."

"Certainly Mr. ORANGE."

"And I trust all of you will be well behaved while I'm gone?" All of them bar Louise gave him a flat look.

"What? I'm well behaved!" he argued, offended that they could think such a thing.

*Trouble sticks to you like shit on your shoe* DAISHI signed, earning nods of agreement from the rest of the team.

"Fine. _I'll_ stay out of trouble," he grumbled as he followed Siesta across the courtyard.

* * *

ORANGE walked beside Siesta across the grounds towards Headmaster Osmond's office, there was a comfortable silence between the two of them. It was not long before Siesta started to steal glances at the man beside her, causing him to become irritated. After a short period of time, he lost patience and addressed his guide. "You got something you want to ask Miss Siesta?"

She looked away and flushed in embarrassment. "Err..Well…"

"Spit it out," he said impatiently.

"Are you a knight!?" she asked quickly, looking back at him while clutching the front of her dress.

ORANGE snorted in response. "Me? No. I guess you could call me more of a mercenary?" he said thoughtfully as he scratched his chin. "I don't work for the money, more to test my skills and better people from all over the world. Being tied to a region would prevent me from doing so."

Siesta frowned at the reply.

"But I heard you said you were a Champion? Does that not mean you've participated in battles and served under kings and lords?"

"I have fought battles, but not the ones you're thinking of. I-"

"Where's your mutt plebeian?" ORANGE groaned as he turned round for the second time that day to see Guiche standing behind him brandishing his rose.

"You again!? What do you want?" he asked, exasperated.

"I want you to fight me!"

"The answer's no! I'm going to go see Headmaster Osmond. Feel free to explain to him why you've held me up," he said angrily as he turned round and started to walk away, only to find himself floating up into the air. Looking round, he saw Guiche pointing his rose at him, looking rather smug.

ORANGE narrowed his eyes at the blonde prick. "Put me down right now."

"No, not until you admit you're beneath me and agree to a duel," he said haughtily, flicking his hair.

"What do you not understand about the words coming out of my mouth? Did your mother throw you off the balcony after giving birth to you or are you naturally lacking grey matter? Put me down and there will be no consequences," he warned.

Guiche threw his head back and laughed. "Consequences? I think you're forgetting your station! Let me remind you where you stand amongst us." Waving his wand, he cancelled the spell and ORANGE who had gained some height by this point, fell to the ground. Upon impact, a large snap was heard as he cried out in pain. Siesta rushed to his side and tried to help him, but was stopped by other students wanting to see ORANGE punished for his insolence.

"I have given you plenty of chances to walk away," ORANGE said shakily as he slowly stood back up, his face ashen with pain. "Yet you persevere and choose to ignore my words. Let me show you the difference between a Champion and a so-called noble." He looked up and squinted, spotting a rapidly incoming figure. With fire in his eyes, he levelled a glare at Guiche. "We accept your challenge for a battle," he said quietly as LEE landed in a crouch beside him, wrists blazing in anticipation for the fight ahead.

 **-Chapter End-**

Thanks for reading this chapter, any feedback would be much appreciated!


	4. Chapter 4

**To be a Pokémon Champion - Chapter 4**

 **DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING.**

GLOSSARY

"Hi." - Halkegnian language (going to assume it's French)

" _Hi."_ \- Thoughts in Halkegnian language

'Hi.' - Kanto language (going to assume it's Japanese)

' _Hi._ ' - Thoughts in Kanto language

'Hi.' \- Spell/Pokémon move

*Hi* - Signing

-Hi- - Pokédex

REPLIES TO REVIEWS

Xbox432 – I hope you like what happens to him below!

PEJP Bengtzone V2 – He looks dragon-like which is why Louise mistook him for one and Orange corrected her.

Zealot492 – Thank you! What did you think of the other chapters?

SilverstormXD – I'm glad you're enjoying it! No, he won't be an Aura user as he's completely ignorant in magic and spirituality. However, there will be someone else who will be an Aura user who will turn up later.

Descriptions of Pokémon come from Bulbapedia.

 **-Chapter Start-**

ORANGE and LEE watched carefully as the crowd behind Guiche spread out into a circle. 'Remember the first rule of fighting unscrupulous bastards?' he asked quietly, watching Guiche as he moved to the centre. LEE caught his Trainer's eye and nodded, a small smile crossing his face.

"Are you ready? You can always surrender and grovel," said Guiche, giving ORANGE a careless shrug. "Who knows, I might even forgive you."

He growled in response as he slowly made their way to the centre. "You? Forgive me? Somehow, I don't think you'll be able to," he said as he stood opposite his opponent, smirking.

"No, I don't suppose I can," he said nonchalantly. Clearing his throat, he made a sweeping gesture and point his rose at ORANGE. "Either way, it is time for us to duel!" He allowed the cheers and shouts of support from his fellow classmates to sink in before continuing. "I am Guiche the Bronze, and I will be your opponent!" As he waved his rose, a single petal detached itself and started to make its decent to the floor.

Before the petal touched down however, LEE blurred and shot past ORANGE. There was a sickening crunch as it slammed its fiery fist into Guiche and launched him through the crowd and across the courtyard. The smell of charred flesh, singed hair and burnt clothing lingered in the air LEE lowered his fist, throwing his trainer an unimpressed look. He returned it with a bemused look on his face. 'C'mon. Let's go have a word with our 'opponent.' ' The crowd scrambled out the way as they made their way forward to him, no-one wanting to on the receiving end of LEE.

Lying face down at the other end of the courtyard, Guiche wasn't having a particularly pleasant battle. He was struggling to draw breaths courtesy of his broken ribs, the burns he had received were causing him agony and he was pretty sure he had broken a few other bones as he bounced across the ground. Not to mentioned the bruises and gashes he had collected along the way. He felt a hand grab him by his shoulder and flip him over. "Thank … you…" he wheezed, squinting against the sunlight to see who his benefactor was. Whatever blood remained in his face promptly disappeared as his eyes adjusted to the figure looming over him.

ORANGE smiled coldly at the person lying before him. "What did you think was going to happen when you challenged me, hm? Was I going to get on my knees whilst you belittled me and trampled over my basic human rights? Or did you hope I'd stand up and fight back, only for you and your mighty magic to strike the uppity peasant to ground?"

He received a panicked look and strangled gurgle in response.

"Well, I guess it's irrelevant," he said, nudging Guiche's chest with his foot, eliciting a high pitched whimper from the downed noble. "I'm sorry? What was that?" he asked, turning his head and cupping his good hand behind his ear.

After several attempts, Guiche finally managed to say something coherent. "Live…"

"I'm not going to kill you man, stop being so dramatic!" he scolded. "It would destroy the tentative bond I've made with Louise over these past few hours." He nudged him again, causing Guiche to flail. "Doesn't mean I'll let you off easy though."

"Stop it!"

He turned round to see two girls with their wands drawn, pointed at the ground. "And who might you be?"

"We," said the blond, are "Montmorency and Katie," gesturing to the burnette beside her. "We're here to stop you from going any further," she said, holding his glare.

"And how will you do that?" ORANGE challenged, lifting his chin up. "Fight me with magic? Spoiler alert: you'll be renting space in the hospital wing next to this guy here," he said offhandedly, pointing a thumb at Guiche.

"No," said Katie, her voice shaking slightly as she saw the extent of Guiches' injuries. "We're here to apologise and surrender on his behalf." She glanced sideways at Montmorency, who nodded in return. "On behalf of Guiche the Bronze, he forfeits the duel and begs for your forgiveness," they said in unison, bowing.

"That's all very well and good, but I want to hear those words coming out of his mouth."

"But he can barely breathe!" Montmorency countered angrily.

Orange stared at them before sighing tiredly and rubbing his eyes. After a few moments, he walked up to the two girls. "Why do you think I've been calling this a battle, and not a duel huh? What are rules for ending one of these duels?"

"Either agreement by between both parties, surrender or death will terminate the duel," said Katie slowly, not sure where he was heading with the line of questioning.

"My grievance isn't with the insults or broken bones; my skin's grown thick over the years and my injuries will heal thanks to your fantastic nurses. It's how he's been so flippant and ignorant. He didn't reflect on the reasons why NOAH wouldn't obey him. He hasn't thought about consequences from the outcome of the duel. He holds no regard for anyone's life, especially of those he thinks are beneath him," he said frustrated, blowing out a breath whilst running his hand through is hair.

Before he could continue however, LEE cried out in warning and drew his attention to the rapidly incoming figures.

"Good afternoon Headmaster Osmond, Professor Colbert, Ma'am," he said cheerily as they arrived, nodding in the direction of the green haired woman who was standing slightly behind the two men.

"What is going on here?" demanded Osmond.

"He broke my arm and challenged me to a battle. I accepted it and here we all are," he said simply, motioning to the courtyard. Longueville moved past them to start tending to Guiche.

"Miss Longueville witnessed the start of duel from the office before she came to collect us. Why did you attack Guiche before his magic was fully cast?" asked Colbert angrily.

He stared at the three of them in disbelief. "Are you that stupid? You honest think I was just going to wait for him to cast Arceus-knows magic at me and stand there and take it?"

"He would've waited for you before attacking! Do you think that we'd so ignoble as to not give you a fair chance in a duel?"

"A fair chance? Tell me, what is the probability of me winning a duel without magic or weapons? Smaller than the height of a STUNFISK?" Getting blanks looks for his odd comment, he growled in frustration and continued. "It's not like I could've avoided eye contact or walked around him; he stuck me up in the air! First rule about avoiding battles. If there's no way to avoid them, take them out before they can send out their Pokémon. Or in this case, cast their magic," ORANGE said, glancing behind him and observing the work of Longueville.

"Inflicting this kind of damage on a child and taunting a downed duellist … do you not agree that you went overboard, or do you have no boundaries?" asked Osmond quietly as he brought his gaze back to ORANGE. "Depending on your answer, I may reconsider allowing you to teach Louise."

"He stopped being a child when he challenged me to a duel," he replied flatly. "Did I go overboard? I won't deny it. But he came after me some imagined slight and broke my arm because his ego couldn't take it. Only way you learn to appreciate your life is if you come close to losing it," he said shrugging his good shoulder. "Now, he'll think twice about challenging people for petty duels. Would you rather he found the value in living now, or at the hands of someone less merciful?"

"Merciful!? You're taunting a downed opponent!" exclaimed Colbert.

"I broke a few bones, be glad I didn't take off his head," he grunted.

Osmond intervened before Colbert could reply. "After we've taken Guiche to the infirmary, we all need to sit down and discuss how to progress from here, yourself and Louise included. Where is she at the moment? I didn't see her on my way here."

"She's bonding with the rest of my team. When and where should we meet?"

"In one hour, my office."

ORANGE nodded in agreement. "We'll be there."

* * *

There was a heavy silence at the six of them sat around Osmonds' table; the two professors and secretary on side whilst the student, maid and travelling Pokémon Champion were sat on the other.

"Man, what's with this gloomy atmosphere? It's like someone died," joked ORANGE before being suitably chastised by Louise as everyone turned to stare at him.

"You and Louise are extremely fortunate that our healers are some of the best in the country," Colbert said gravely. "We are potentially facing a serious situation between the two families."

Frowning at his tone, he shifted in his seat as he leant forward. "Please, explain. As far as I'm concerned, I defended myself against someone who wished to bring harm to me."

"Putting aside Guiche's actions towards you, his family would be of the opinion that as Louise summoned you to be her familiar, she is ultimately responsible for your actions," Osmond replied, mirroring ORANGE's movements. "In turn, because she also failed to complete the ritual they would view her as a failed mage and seek to get her expelled from the academy."

ORANGE rubbed his temples with his hand, before breathing a frustrated sigh and slapping his hand down onto the table. "I am my own person and only I am responsible for my own actions, why do you people find this concept so hard to grasp!?" Thumbing a knot in the wood, he took a deep breath before continuing. "Sorry. How does involve their respective families?"

"Well, aside from the fallout from a social point of view, there's the reparations to consider. These could range from money to political marriages, land and anything in-between. In this case however, it might involve handing you over to the Gramont family from Louise's care."

"I am not something to be traded," he growled as he rose from his seat.

"We know, we know" said Colbert quickly as he raised his hands in a placating manner. "But you must see it from their point of view. A traveller with creatures of immense power under a noble with very little magical prowess? People will not only be wanting to your knowledge, but access and control of said creatures. If they have access to you and your team, they will stand to gain a lot of power."

"Let them try," ORANGE snorted. "You saw what happened to Guiche during our battle, and that was with LEE holding back significantly."

"Which brings us onto our next question. You mentioned that the first rule in avoiding battles was to take out the Trainer before they could send out their Pokémon. Why is this the case?" asked Osmond curiously.

Pausing for a few moments to consider his answer, he continued. "Tell me Headmaster, what are the most powerful creatures in your world?" ORANGE replied quietly.

"Well," Osmond mused as he ran a hand over his beard. "We have dragons, manticores, griffins, spirits and the like. Why do you ask?"

ORANGE tapped his chin in thought. "Okay, let's take your dragons. If you would, please tell me a little more about them."

"You have two different types; wind and fire. Wind types have been used for centuries as noble steeds for most elite knight orders around the world. They are smaller and sleeker than their fire counterparts, meaning they are more agile in battle. Fire types tend to be rarer, larger and slower, but can breathe fire. There also used to be a third type; rhyme dragons. They were as intelligent as humans and capable of wielding magic, but unfortunately, are now considered extinct."

ORANGE raised an eyebrow at the description of rhyme dragons. _"Sounds like they're this realm's equivalent of legendries?"_ He cleared his throat before continuing. "Let's take fire dragons eh? Let me give you an example of the kind of firepower Pokémon wield in my world. On my team, I have HATHOR, who's a Pokémon called VOLCARONA. This particular species has been known to cloak itself in fire. This fire burns so hot and bright, during the Dark Ages when volcanic ash darkened the atmosphere, they took to the skies and substituted the sun."

The table looked stunned at the announcement. "B-but that's impossible! Nothing has that kind of power!" exclaimed Longueville.

"I assure you, he does. Want him to demonstrate?" he asked, placing the corresponding Pokéball on the table in front of them.

"No no, that won't be required," said Osmond hastily, eyeing the sphere on the table.

"But that's just one out of hundreds of species. As a taster, we have one that knocks down mountains and buries rivers with one of its hands, one that causes volcanic eruptions when it barks, one that can hypnotise anything to its will, one that can tow continents with ropes, one that can travel through time – do I need to go on? Imagine if just one of these mighty beings are trying to be controlled by people who have neither the skill nor experience required, but have all of the malicious intent."

"It would be disastrous," said Colbert quietly as he stared at ORANGE in horror.

"Exactly. And just like you have malicious people, you have malicious Pokémon. Being a Trainer isn't an easy profession by any stretch of the imagination. Amongst the pain, fear, toiling through the long days and blood transfusions, you have the chance to become someone great."

Longueville leant forward with renewed interest. "So you're saying anyone can become a Trainer? They're not limited by their social standing?"

ORANGE shook his head. "Anyone can apply to become a Trainer after passing the core curriculum and vetting process."

"How did you survive and succeed if every creature hiding in the grass is capable of such destruction?" Louise asked faintly, looking rather pale at the thought of coming up against such powerful beings.

"Not every Pokémon is capable of such feats, and those that are tend to be are few and far between. Typically, the more powerful ones tend to keep to themselves and out of trouble. Take HATHOR for example. I only caught him when he emerged from a volcano whilst it was erupting. "

"And have you encountered many of these rarer types during your travels?" asked Osmond, sensing there was a chance of learning more about ORANGE's homeland and the creatures that dwell within it.

"I have," he confirmed, nodding once. "I'll get Dexter out and I'll take you through them."

"Dexter?" Louise asked curiously. "Is he another member of your team?"

"No, Dexter's a Pokédex. It's a … dictating encyclopaedia that records the Pokémon you've encountered as well as the date and location of said encounter. It also has data on things like diets, habitat, breeding habits and the like. I'll show it to you later," he added quickly to the Professors in an attempt to stop the conversation from going sideways.

"Ah, of course," said Osmond as he coughed, trying to hide his look of disappointment. "The next item is regarding Louise and her tuition at the Academy," he said, shifting uncomfortably in his seat as he continued. "The fees for the Academy are all paid for by the student's parents. In return, we are expected to help them fulfil their potential as mages. If they aren't capable of achieving either our or their parent's expectations, they are withdrawn from the Academy to find a profession better suited to them."

"The Summoning Ritual," continued Colbert, "performed since the time of Brimir, is a mandatory course that all pupils must pass in order to progress in their studies. Calling through time and space, a mage summons a familiar that is not only most suited to their requirements, but also confirms their elemental affinity. Guiche, for example, is known for his bronze golems and summoned a mole whose main talent is finding rare jewels and metals, thereby confirming his affinity as Earth."

Not liking where the conversation was leading, a frowning ORANGE folded his arms. "So where does that leave Louise?"

"For reasons unknown to us at the present time, she has managed to summon you. For what reason, I do not know, other than her magic thought her to be in need of a man of your particular skillset," Osmond replied, leaning forward. "I will need to conduct some more research in order to determine whether she has a magical affinity or not."

ORANGE cocked his head, confused at the lack of information his reply. "And this is a common thing, is it? Plucking people out of the homeworld?"

"As far as we can tell from our school records, no. You are the first," said Colbert as he gestured to the records housed in the wall beside them.

"So what does that have to do with Louise's studies?" asked ORANGE uncertainly as he eyed the various tomes held within the wall and wondered how many students had passed through the Academy's doors.

"Normally, the mage must complete the ritual by kissing their summoned familiar. Failing to do so will result in expulsion," he replied, his expression grim as he looked between the two of them. "Whilst I do have an idea in mind in regards to helping Louise, I would like to hear your proposal first?"

Rubbing his eyes, he pulled his hat off and ran a calloused hand through this unkempt hair. "All I can give you is a rough outline; I haven't worked out all of the detail within it. Is this acceptable for you? "

After conferring with his two colleagues beside him, Osmond nodded. "Please."

Blowing out a breath, he rolled his shoulders before speaking. "You already know of my desire to teach Louise to become a Pokémon Trainer. To take it a step further, while she continues her theoretical studies into the principles of magic, my plan was to skip the part where she tries to use other types of magic and focus solely on her explosions. Three reasons, first of which she'll be wasting her time trying to perform the same thing over and over and expecting something to change."

"Secondly, you remember how I said if you wanted to avoid a battle, you take down the Trainer beforehand? As Guiche kindly demonstrated, I am rather … squishy without my team and coming up against magic users doesn't help things. Having Louise being able to control her explosions will allow her to have much more freedom in battle than a Trainer typically would. Which, leads us nicely onto our third and final point. If she can harness her explosions, there's no telling what she could be capable of! Think of it, the country's at war and you're losing the key battle. Enter Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière and with a wave of her stick she turns the tide by obliterating the advancing enemy!" he said enthusiastically, making the accompanying hand gesture of something vanishing in a puff of smoke. "You'll need a stage name though," he said to Louise, winking. "Your name's way too much of a mouthful."

The teaching staff remained quiet as they went over his plan in their heads. "While I would like to agree to your proposal," Osmond began slowly, "there are two main obstacles, first and foremost of which is Louise's parents. We cannot keep something this big from them; they must be informed."

"Then give us time," ORANGE pleaded. "You know the curriculum isn't doing her any favours; earning her high marks in theory and all of the scorn and ridicule from her peers because she can't practise it. Let me and my team work with her under your supervision and see what she's actually capable of."

"The second problem is her tuition without a familiar. Without one, we cannot make it seem as if she has completed the Ritual," Osmond continued as he looked at Louise.

"That's where we go out and find her first Pokémon," he replied simply. "It will take some time before she can catch one, but seeing as she's prone to making spells fail we can use that to our advantage. Something along the lines of 'the spell failed and summoned ORANGE by mistake. Due to this error, she has been allowed to re-preform the ritual and summoned the Familiar you see before you.'"

Osmond still looked unconvinced. "Her parents…"

"Bring them in and Louise will perform a demonstration."

"Headmaster if I may, that's not a bad idea. The familiar festival is in a few weeks and we can kill two birds with one stone," Longueville said, flashing ORANGE a brief smile, one which was returned gratefully.

Osmond mulled it over for a few moments before turning to Colbert. "Your thoughts?"

"Let us give her a chance," he said seriously.

After a few moments of mulling it over, Osmond spoke. "Before I make my decision, I would like to put my proposal to Louise." Hearing her name, Louise perked up and leant forward in her seat. "Because ORANGE has not been bound by Louise, the ritual has not been completed. In addition to this, ORANGE's capability as a familiar are extremely limited compared to others that have been summoned and fail to show her affinity. I would therefore propose she re-preforms the summoning ritual."

Louise looked at her headmaster, scandalised. "But Professor Colbert said that the ritual was sacred and I can't retry it!"

"I know, but due to the circumstances and the reasons mentioned, I am willing to allow you to attempt it once more."

She remained silent for a few minutes before turning to ORANGE. "What do you think I should do?"

Orange shrugged in response. "I have no experience in magic, arcane, supernatural and the like, so I can't really advice you there," he said, looking sheepish. "However, no matter what you choose, I will support you and help you wherever I can," he said, smiling.

Taking a deep breath, she looked back at her teachers, who were looking at her expectantly. "I … would like to train under ORANGE until I preform a demonstration to my parents. If they disagree, I would like to try it then."

Osmond closed his eyes and sighed wearily. "Very well. I will allow you to study and train away from the Academy curriculum. However, I do expect you to fully pay for any damages that occur during this time," he said sternly, directing the last comment to ORANGE.

"Of course," ORANGE agreed instantly, not quite understanding just how much damage a four foot nine-inch girl with pink hair was actually capable of.

Osmond breathed a sigh of relief, tears of joy forming in his eyes as he smiled warmly at Louise. "Then, if you will Ms. Longueville, please draw up a contract for myself, Ms. Vallière and Sir ORANGE to sign. It will take us a few days to go through the minutiae, so please be patient with us."

"I'll follow your lead Headmaster," ORANGE said, leaning over the table to shake his outstretched hand.

* * *

After another hour of deliberating details, it was decided amongst them that they would break for the night and continue the next morning after Louise had fallen asleep in her chair. After ORANGE threatened to use the contents Osmond's office as kindle for a campfire after their initial rejection for a separate room, Siesta led him and Louise out of the room and towards their respective areas for the night.

"Did I miss anything important?" Louise asked groggily as she attempted to rub the drowsiness from her eyes.

"No, not particularly," he replied, stifling a yawn. "Sure, a girl and a guy who she's known for a few hours sharing the same room isn't inappropriate in the slightest!" he exclaimed as he shook his head in disbelief.

"Do you really think my magic can be that powerful?"

ORANGE looked down at her, confused at her question. "Why do you ask?"

Louise went quiet and chewed on her lip, thinking about her response. "When you described the battle scenario, it reminded me of my mother. She … she's known as Karin of the Heavy Wind, former commander of the Manticore Knights. When she rode into battle, her enemies would throw each other into her path to escape her magic."

"Even if you can't reach that level of power, there are other ways to make yourself useful. One way, for example, would be blowing off a fellow mages' appendage from a mile off before they can start casting, thereby ending the threat they pose. You think it's just Trainers like me in my land? We have nurses, actors, dancers, hikers, martial artists and the like all using Pokémon for different ends. Different doesn't mean useless," he said gently as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "If it all goes horribly wrong, at least you can say you've tried and failed, rather than going 'I shoulda woulda coulda' for the rest of your life."

"You'll be there for me?"

"Of course! We'll all be here to push you to be the best that you can be, guide you through the numerous seas, forests, caves and tall green grass whilst supporting you in whatever you decide to ultimately decide to become."

"You won't leave me?" she sniffed, tears forming in corners of her eyes. "You won't call me a failure if I don't meet your expectations?" she asked as she stopped walking, her voice trembling as teardrops fell down her cheeks.

ORANGE stopped and stared at her for a few moments before walking back to her and kneeling down. "The only expectation I have of you, and this is going to sound incredibly cheesy," he said irritably as Louise hiccupped with laughter, "is that you give it your very best," he continued as he handed her a tissue.

Louise nodded and after drawing in a shaky breath, blew hard into the tissue. "Who knew something so small could be so loud," he joked, earning him a watery smile from Louise and snort of laughter from Siesta. "C'mon, let's get you to bed, we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

* * *

After arriving at his own room (which was conveniently further down the corridor from Louise's'), he changed into his nightwear and sat down at the end of the bed after having a quick walk around. "So, this is going to be my quarters for the meantime huh?" he muttered, looking around. It was devoid of any fancy furnishings, fittings and drapes, but still contained everything he needed. "I guess they expect me to set fire to something – or steal everything that isn't nailed, glued or bolted to the floor," he chuckled to himself as he got up and lit the candle on the table and picked up Dexter. "Hello Dexter."

-Hello ORANGE. How many I help?-

"Well, I've taken a new student under my wing, need to start by teaching her the basics of Pokémon before she goes out and catches one."

-I recommend starting with the various types and their advantages and disadvantages.-

"Funnily enough, that's exactly what I was thinking." Pulling out some paper and a variety of colouring pens from his bag, he sighed as he stretched his arms and leant forward on the desk. "Let's get to it, shall we?"

 **-Chapter End-**

Thank you for reading this chapter, any feedback would be much appreciated!


	5. Chapter 5

**To be a Pokémon Champion - Chapter 5**

 **DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING.**

Hope you've all had a pleasant holidays and new years!

Apologies for taking so long in getting this out, spent a while working out where I was going with the story and work/lack of inspiration didn't help. This is the longest chapter I've done so far and I hope it meets your expectations.

 **This chapter hasn't been beta'd, so if there's anything wrong please let me know and I'll correct it.**

As always, thanks to Bass and Relden Calder for helping me with this fanfic.

GLOSSARY

"Hi." - Halkeginian language (going to assume it's French)

" _Hi."_ \- Thoughts in Halkeginian language

'Hi.' - Kanto language (going to assume it's Japanese)

' _Hi._ ' - Thoughts in Kanto language

'Hi.' \- Spell/Pokémon move

*Hi* - Signing

-Hi- - Pokédex

REPLIES TO REVIEWS

Xbox432 – Guiche and Orange will be meeting again fairly soon, already got that planned out! As for her first Pokémon, I've narrowed it down to two or three choices :)

PEJP Bengtzone V2 – I hope so too! I'm planning on basing it around an event from the games.

New Universe Returns – Thank you so much!

Celestia's Paladin – The names are all in caps as I spelt them like that in the all the games (totally didn't see the lowercase option :P).

Golderik/Guest: I hope you like this chapter.

Inkdawn12: I think I've fixed it now, didn't realise at all! :S

SilentMech: Yeah haha! He beat Misty the same way I did - grit, a bag full of potions and a level 28 Charmeleon using Smokescreen :D

Descriptions of Pokémon come from Bulbapedia.

 **-Chapter Start-**

Louise began to stir as the first light started to filter into her room. Cursing herself for failing to draw her curtains and the direction of her bedroom window, she drew the covers over her head in an attempt to block out the sun's rays. By the time she accepted the fact she wasn't going back to sleep, the sun had completely risen and nullified the meagre protection the covers provided from the light.

Grumbling, she threw the covers from her head and sighed as she looked at herself. The events from yesterday had taken their toll on her and she had fallen asleep in the clothes she had worn during the day. Due to her interaction with ORANGE's team in the afternoon, the smells of wood fires, singed hair and cooked meat she had picked up had overpowered the soft perfumes she had sprayed on her bedsheets. Squinting, she spotted fur she had disturbed whilst emerging from her covers floating gently in the air.

Propping herself up, she rubbed her eyes to banish the last of her drowsiness and began to think about ORANGE and the day ahead. Casting her mind back, she had thought the rejection of her kiss was simply a desperate attempt to avoid becoming her familiar. After making his thoughts clear on the matter, he could've upped and left; there was no bond between the two of them and Professor Colbert certainly couldn't force him to complete the ritual against his will. Instead, he had chosen to stay and offer the opportunity to pursue a different avenue in life, one that she could control without her parents making the decisions for her.

" _Was it out of pity?"_ Rolling over, her eyes were drawn to the pile of hay she had prepared for her familiar. Scrunching her face in thought, she remembered his description of the different avenues to become a Trainer. From his account, he seemed to be almost entirely self-taught; learning from his experiences in battles, raising his POKéMON and the regions he had travelled through to get to where he was now. Imagining what kind of sights he had seen and the encounters he may have had, learning magic seemed much more … restrictive. It was either private tutors or be sent to an academy with very little room in-between.

Granted, someone like her couldn't just wander off on their lonesome at the grand old age of 10. Parents of nobility wouldn't exactly be keen on letting their successors go into the big bad world only to have them perish outside the front gates. It also didn't help she had no idea as to how to survive on her own without the constant presence of serving staff. " _How is it that he at 10 years old was able to survive against the creatures he described? Will I gain that kind of survivability and fortitude under his tutelage?"_

Thinking of his parents, she frowned as she compared them to hers. " _She must've had absolute faith in her son's skills to let him start his journey to become a Champion. I wonder what happened to his father though … maybe he was a Trainer too?"_ Her eyes drifted to the bottom of her room where a photo of her family stood on top of her dresser. " _I will have to prove to all of them that I can do this and forge a new path for myself."_

" _If they disagree?"_ asked the voice in her head.

" _I guess I'll have to work harder and prove them wrong."_ She replied determinedly. And with that, she threw the sheets to one side and hurried to get down to breakfast to meet her new mentor.

"Good morning Mister ORANGE!" chirped Siesta as she prodded the slumped figure on the table. "Would you like something to eat or drink?"

"Some coffee would be nice," he grumbled as he sat up straight, rubbing his eyes. "How are you gorram chipper this early in the morning?"

"Erm, I got a good night's sleep?" she said innocently, chuckling at the shocked look on his face. "Some of the night staff noticed that your candles were still burning as they walked past your room and heard you talking to someone. My my, only here for one night and you already have a lover," she teased, sighing dreamily as she brought a hand up to her face.

ORANGE looked bewildered and shook his head slowly. "Hate to burst your bubble, but I was talking with Dexter – who is not a person in any way, shape or form."

-If I can speak of my own accord, listen to you and remember many interesting things, am I not a man?-

"No, you're an encyclopedia that happens to talk," he replied bluntly, pulling it out from his pocket and hitting the mute button as it started to reply. The screen flashed furiously in response before an unhappy face was displayed.

"You can't do that!" exclaimed Siesta indignantly. "Make him speak again!" she said, pointing to the unhappy Pokédex.

"What? No! He goes on for hours!"

"It's rude to interrupt someone while they're talking. Turn him back on," she said sternly, placing both her hands on her hips.

ORANGE leaned back into the chair, an amused smile on his face. "Oh? And what will you do if I don't?"

"You'll do as your told or you're not getting fed or watered," she replied with a calm smile.

Irritated, he opened his mouth his reply, only to close it with a soft click upon seeing the look on her face. Closing his eyes for a long moment, he sighed heavily as he hit the button allowing Dexter to speak again. "There," he said unhappily, tossing it onto the table.

"Good boy," she cooed as she ruffled his hair. "I won't be pleased if I have to tell you twice," she said quietly as she ran her hand through his locks. "Understand?" she queried, grabbing his hair as she quirked an eyebrow.

"Yes Miss," he muttered sullenly, gently untangling her hand from his hair. "Sorry Miss. Won't happen again Miss."

Siesta nodded, happy with the response. "I'll go and get breakfast for yourself and Ms. Vallière," she chirped as she walked away.

There was a silence at the table before it was broken by a distorted chuckle. –You can command beings of unimaginable power, and yet still quail under the slightest gaze from a female. –

"You haven't suffered the consequences of going against their demands," he grumbled, shivering slightly at the memories. "And I'm in need of caffeine."

There was a pause before a noise that sounded suspiciously like the crack of a whip played out from the little red and black machine.

"You litt-"

"Good morning ORANGE," greeted Louise as she arrived at his table. "Did you sleep well?" she asked, pulling out the chair and sitting down.

Throwing a dirty look at Dexter, he nodded. "For the most part, thank you. Spent most of it writing up some basic theory for you," he said, stifling a yawn with the back of his hand. "And you?"

"The events of yesterday meant I was able to sleep as soon as I reached my room," she replied, nodding in thanks. "What have you got planned for me today?"

"Well, I'd like to get an idea of what your physical capabilities are before we start. For breakfast, I'd like you to having something like oatmeal, fruit, little bit of cheese and yogurt. While we wait for that to settle, you can spend more time bonding with my team; there may come a day where you'll have to take care of them in my absence so best to make inroads sooner rather than later."

"You expect something to happen to you?"

"Anything can happen," he shrugged. "I'm not infallible and I need to make sure they won't be neglected or abused. Seeing as there's no-one from my world here and they get along with you, I don't see why not."

"You trust me that much?" she asked quietly, frowning at his apparent nonchalance.

"You chose me and my team's freedom over your use of magic," he replied, leaning back into his seat as Siesta placed their breakfast down in front of him. "We're of the opinion that you don't really need to show us anything else."

"We?"

"Me and the team. You think I'd make a decision as big as this without consulting them first?"

"And they were all on board with this? After only meeting me yesterday?"

"It was more of a 'Eh, she seems nice enough,' kinda vibe."

"Glad to hear they trust me implicitly," she said flatly, throwing him an unimpressed look as she leant forward and picked up a banana from the tray.

"That they don't. Now hurry up, we don't have all morning," he said impatiently as he pointed at the rest of the food with his spoon.

Pausing mid-bite, she looked at ORANGE curiously. "What do your team eat? I didn't see them eat anything yesterday evening."

Setting his spoon down, he patted himself before digging into one of his pockets. Making a noise associated with victory, he pulled out a rather ratty looking book and started to thumb through the pages. "Ah, here it is," he said, passing the book over to Louise to read. Louise reached out and accepted the book.

"I can't read this," she said, squinting at the writing before her. "What language is this?"

Cursing under his breath, he snatched the book back and flicked through several pages until he found what he was looking for and set it back down in front of her. "Sorry, forgot you couldn't understand my mother tongue." Louise made a noise of understanding as she brought the book back before her face. Reading further into the page, her eyes widened. "It keeps going for 27 pages I think? It's been a while since I've read that bit of it," he said sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck.

"Wait, you have more than ten POKéMON?" she asked, flicking through the pages in the book. "Where did you find all of these?"

"I've been a trainer for 14 years, I've got quite the family," he said, rubbing his chin as he chucked to himself. "When I started I only ever intended to have FIRE-types in my team. However, in my 6th and 7th years I discovered having a single-type team left me vulnerable in certain scenarios."

"Oh really?" Louise looked up from the book, curious. "What happened?"

"Ah the usual; mythical POKéMON gets awakened by cliché baddie group and throws its figurative toys out of the pram," he said, waving her query away. "I'll explain in more detail some other time."

Louise looked disappointed, but didn't push the issue. "Who's TYSON?" she asked, squinting at the page. "And why does it say do not leave him unattended all over the page?"

"The bastard managed to take a chunk out the side of a mountain while I wasn't looking," he groused. "There was plenty of food nearby but no, he just had to go for one of the regional landmarks and make me foot the bill for it," he huffed, crossing his arms in irritation.

"W-what!? He ate a mountain?"

"One of your classmates has summoned a giant floating eyeball and you're asking me about how something can eat a pile of rocks?" he asked, throwing her a flat look.

"Taking a chunk out of a mountain isn't exactly insignificant! How big is TYSON anyway?"

ORANGE tilted his head in thought. "Maybe 50-60 meters tall? Somewhere in that region I guess, why?"

Louise paled as she stared at him before throwing her empty banana skin in his face. "HOW CAN YOU MISS SOMETHING THAT BIG?!"

* * *

After an hour or so of mingling with the team, Louise and ORANGE were in one of the courtyards warming up. "So, I'd like to get an idea of how fit – or unfit – you are before we start any kind of training. I can give you all the knowledge you need to become a trainer, but if you can't run away from something that thinks you'd make a hearty meal then there's not much point."

"Is that what will we be doing first? A jog?" Louise asked, her voice strained as she tried to mimic the stretches ORANGE was performing.

"Yep," he grunted, bending forward to reach his toes. "Warm up," he breathed out as he stood back up. "We'll go for a jog around the courtyard and see how you fare. You ready?" After receiving a nod, he called NOAH over to run alongside them. "Let's go!" After five minutes however, ORANGE found himself stood over the poor girl who was currently catching her breath on the ground as NOAH fretted around them. "You OK down there?"

Louise made a strangled noise and nodded weakly as spots danced across her vision.

"Oi oi it sounded like your soul has just vacated your body, are you sure you're alright?" he asked anxiously, running a hand over his hat. Sighing, he waited for her to catch her breath before continuing. "I apologise, I went too fast for you. I'm not used to doing this with other people," he said quietly, sitting down next to her. "Tell you what, how about you take NOAH and go for walk before you start jogging again? Walk for 1 minute, jog for four, repeat until you've done 3 laps and we'll go from there."

Later on in the afternoon, Louise found herself staring down the archery course.

"Why am I here?" she asked impatiently. "I can't do archery!" her voice rising as she started to panic.

"I won't be asking you to," he replied smoothly, bringing out PYTHIA in the process. "I want to see what these explosions are like and how good your aim is."

"… really? You think I have potential?" she asked quietly, looking down the course.

"It'd be dinner before I finished listing off the amount of times your ability would've come in handy," he grumbled, Louise making out the words "Victory Road" as he kicked a nearby stone away in anger. Huffing, he turned to PYTHIA. 'Be ready, I don't know how well this will go down,' he muttered.

*You have no idea what you're doing, do you?* she signed, crossing her arms with an unimpressed look.

'Of course I do!,' he replied indignantly before returning his attention to the curious girl. "Right. So what I want you to do is aim for one of those targets over there with your explosion spell … thingy."

*Thingy?* she snorted. *Nice.*

'You. None of that sass.' He said, pointing at PYTHIA as she rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Louise, don't hold back; just shout explosion and show me what you got," he said, giving her an encouraging pat on the back.

Wincing at the hit, Louise nodded her head uncertainly as she focused her attention down the range. " _Right, let's do this!_ " Clearing her throat, she raised her wand at the target. 'Explosion!' As the ground shook from the force of her spell, she immediately braced herself for the incoming dust-storm, only for nothing to reach her. Slowly peeking out from behind her arms, she found a shimmering blue dome surrounding the three of them, protecting them from the dust and debris from her spell. Looking back at ORANGE, her eyes widened as she saw PYTHIA hold what looked like a wand, tip ablaze. "S-She can do magic!?" Louise asked incredulously, pointing a shaky hand at the stick.

Frowning, he glanced between the two of them before shrugging. "I'm not sure about that, but one of PYTHIA's many abilities is to create a barrier that protects you against any kind of damage. Useful, no?" ORANGE laughed, tapping it lightly. However, as the dust started to settle, the smile on his face was replaced by a look of horror as he saw the damage Louise had wrought on the poor training grounds. "I think we should practise someplace where I won't be charged for the damage," he said after a long period of silence, face pale as his mind working out how much this was going to cost him.

Louise and PYTHIA could only nod dumbly as they stared out at the crater that used to be the archery course.

* * *

Later that evening, Louise found herself sat outside with ORANGE and his team eating their dinner around a large campfire EDDIE had lit. As they all talked amongst each other, she observed how everyone seemed to talk and joke amongst each other using a variety of voices and gestures to make their thoughts known. Interestingly, ORANGE was replying back with similar calls and motions with almost the same fluency as he spoke Halkeginian. Smiling, she bit daintily into a piece of chicken that had been cooked over the open flame.

ORANGE looked in her direction and blurted something unintelligible, complete with bits of food leaving his mouth. After a few moments of silence and a barely-disguised look of disgust on Louise's face, his mouth suddenly slammed shut and began to chew forcefully. Glancing over, she saw PYTHIA with her wand out and voicing her displeasure at his lack of manners whilst the rest of them laughed at his predicament. Swallowing hastily and thumping his chest, he threw PHYTIA a dirty look before turning his attention to Louise. "What's with the smile?"

She didn't respond immediately, choosing to mull over her answer by chewing her mouthful of food for a little longer than was necessary. "I just think it's incredible how you just know so much and have achieved so much in such a short space of time. I mean," she said, catching ORANGE's incredulous gaze and blushing, "it's not like you can just become a Champion through perseverance, can you?"

"You'd be surprised at how many people I get arriving on my doorstep with their bags stuffed with Full Restores, Revives and Elixirs," he replied bluntly, reaching forward to grab another chicken leg. "You need perseverance and determination to help push yourself forward, but when it comes up against the force of someone that's been battling for more than a decade? You'll need something a little more than that." Setting down her cutlery down, she frowned as she thought about his statement. After a period of silence, ORANGE coughed gently to get her attention. "Penny for your thoughts?"

"It sounds very similar to what my mother would teach me when I was younger," she said slowly, meeting his gaze. "Charging head first into battle will only get yourself killed. You need to study both the opponents and the terrain in detail before coming with plans and contingencies."

ORANGE looked at her curiously. "Oh? OK, how about this then? EDDIE here is a Fire/Flying type. How would you go about beating him?" Seeing her tense up, he sighed as he tapped NOAH to sit beside her. "This isn't a test Louise. I'm genuinely interested to see what you'll come up with. After all, this is a new world for me and I'm all for learning about tactics," showcasing several bits of chicken stuck between his teeth as he grinned widely.

She nodded and took a deep breath to calm herself as she felt NOAH's warmth envelop her. "Well, the first thing I would look at is the Trainer. Does the Trainer prefer to go for an all-out attack or defend and evade whilst an opening appears? Does the preference change for the POKéMON that's currently battling? Has the Trainer shown signs of researching their opponent before battle? Do they-"

"Say you don't know anything about the Trainer or his team and they've just sent out EDDIE," he interrupted, gesturing with his chicken leg. "What then?"

"To counter the flying aspect, you have several options; catapults, using other flying creatures to attack or drop large rocks onto him, fire arrows or muskets into weak points such as his eyes and wings, try to lure him into an enclosed space or trap to remove his flight and mobility, maybe even feed him a poisoned animal or two to weaken him. In terms of fire, you have to rely on either agility, the landscape to provide cover or hitting his mouth before he spews fire all over you."

ORANGE cracked his neck as he mulled over Louise's points. "What if there were mages present? How would you stop him then?"

"The two that spring to mind are earth and water mages. A skilled earth mage could effectively be the catapult whilst providing cover from EDDIE's fire at the same time. At worst, a novice can provide the catapults with ammunition or help put out fires. He or she at low heights can summon obstacles to hinder his path when he dives in. If they are quick enough, they could box him in and trap him. Shooting streams of earth isn't beyond the realms of possibility, but shooting earth mixed with water requires combining of elements, something only a mage with the relevant affinities can do. "

"Affinities?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Yes," she sighed, shifting to a more comfortable position. "Your main elemental affinity is mainly determined by your parents. For example, the Tristan royal family has been Water elemental for generations. In my families case Éléonore takes after our mother with Air, and Cattleya takes after our father with Earth. A secondary affinity is extremely rare, and not much is known about its origins."

"OK," ORANGE nodded his head in thought. "So it may not be all that bad for him then. Please continue."

"In the case of the water mage, they can create mist or fog to obscure his vision during his attack. Streams of water can then be used to attack him, or if he's at low altitudes a large wave of water could effectively down him and remove any possibility of collateral damage - or put any out if the mage is too late. If they are highly proficient, ice walls can be summoned to obstruct, trap and protect, or even ice his wings solid to ground him or his mouth to stop him from breathing fire."

"And what about if he came across the same type? A fire mage?"

"Then it would come down to speed, power and technique," she replied, ticking off each of the items with her fingers. "I assume EDDIE is fire-resistant, so if the mage's defence is slower than EDDIE's attack, then they'd be pretty dead," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "EDDIE's power I'm assuming is closer to a square mage?" she asked uncertainly, only to be met with shrugs and looks of confusion. Sighing, she rubbed her temples and continued. "If he came across anything other than a square mage, he would dominate in terms of power. Even if the mage is square-class, skill and technique must be on point to not only survive the attack but retaliate."

"Hm. So every earth, water and fire mage can do this?" he asked, looking concerned.

"No," Louise shot back, shaking her head. "Every mage has a specialty, and some are better at performing the examples than others. Guiche for example is an earth mage but he specialises in golems. So he can probably create the ammunition for the catapults fairly easily, but he can never do something like shoot streams of wet earth as that's combining a water affinity he doesn't have. It depends how lucky you are when you go into battle."

"I see…" he trailed off, frowning in thought. Opening his mouth to respond, he spotted the large dragon from Familiar Summoning flying towards their makeshift campfire. He cast a forlorn look at his half eaten chicken leg before discarding it and wiping his hands clean. "Looks like we got company peeps, you know the drill," he said irritably, ruffling his hair as his team grumbled and began to focus on the incoming visitor. Much to their surprise, as the dragon came to a halt in front of them, two people jumped off the back and landed gracefully beside it. "Can we help you at all?" ORANGE called out from beside EDDIE, whose stare was currently trying to burn a hole through the fellow reptile.

The larger of the two hooded strangers strode forward to the middle of the campfire, with the smaller one following carefully. "My name is Kirche Augusta Frederica von Anhalt Zerbst," said the taller one, whipping off her hood with a flourish and bowing deeply, showing ORANGE far too much of her anatomy than he was comfortable with. "And this here is my friend Tabitha," she said, gesturing plainly to the girl besides her. "We are both classmates-"

"Acquaintances," Louise bit out, glaring heatedly at the pair.

"Oh Louise, we're in the same classes and we hang out all the time!" she laughed, waving away her rejection.

ORANGE eyed the two of them before turning to a bristling Louise. "Really? What is up with hair colour in this place? Why can't people have normal coloured hair for once? And you," he said, pointing at Kirche, "Did your parents spend all their money to send you here?"

"W-what? No! We are a rich and nob-"

"Then buy a shirt that fits you!" he snapped, blushing slightly as he turned away from her and focused on a dry patch of grass by NOAH's feet. "Are all your clothes meant for children, or have you decided that it's appropriate attire for an institution that your parents spend as much as a commoner's lifetime of earnings on sending you to?" he asked irritably.

The camp was silent as Kirche stared dumbly at ORANGE, before if was broken by Louise's raucous laughter. Snorting at her lack of subtlety, he huffed in annoyance as he looked back at her. "I was having a rather informative discussion regarding the abilities of mages with Louise here. Seeing as you interrupted us, I assume you have a good reason for it?"

"Uh-" Kirche faltered under his sharp gaze. "Well, we-"

"So you don't have a good reason?"

"No w-we do, it's just-"

"Then spit it out!" he snapped. "Not only have you antagonised Louise you've stopped me eating my dinner!"

"Dangerous," said Tabitha quietly as she removed her hood.

ORANGE whipped round to the smaller figure. "I'm sorry?"

"Dangerous," she repeated, keeping her gaze on him as she moved forward.

"What!? These guys and girls?" he asked incredulously before laughing. "Nah, they're just a big bunch of softies!"

"Not them," she shook her head. "You," levelling her staff at him.

ORANGE instantly sobered as he eyed her staff. "Only to unscrupulous bastards, and you seem like neither of those things," gently moving her staff out the way.

Tabitha narrowed her eyes at his cavalier attitude. "What are you?"

"I'm a travelling Trainer who at the time of summoning was battling their way through to become the regional Champion."

"No armour or weapons."

"Who says I don't?" He pulled up his shirt to reveal thin, interlinked armour pads across his chest. "Hell, I've fought people just in their swimwear whilst crossing oceans on the back of TYSON. I've only started to wear this stuff again after my run-in with Guiche - didn't think it was really required here up until then. My more visible armour … that's for more extreme situations."

"Example?"

"Facing something that turns into the sun," he replied bluntly, staring at HATHOR who fluttered his wings and chirruped agitatedly in response. "No, don't give me that Tauroshit. BLAINE had just rebuilt his gym and you weren't the one running away from his MAGMORTAR after it get destroyed."

"I thought you were joking!" squawked Louise in disbelief.

"No word of a lie, I had to stop him melting the island whilst we were fighting inside an erupting volcano."

"You fought him alone?" asked Kirche incredulously.

"Well, me and my team fought him together. They did most of the work though; I was busy throwing rocks at HATHOR whilst they took him down."

"And they obey you? Without question?" Tabitha asked as she eyed HATHOR warily.

"When the time calls for it, yes."

"Why?" asked Kirche curiously. "No offense, but some of them don't seem like the type to obey anyone."

ORANGE snorted in amusement. "Tell me about it. It's taken years of hard work, but we trust each other's decisions."

"And what do they think of your decision to tutor Louise? Someone who can't perform any magic?"

Narrowing his eyes, he turned to Louise. "Remember the archery range?"

Her face wearing a shit-eating grin, she pulled out her wand and levelled it at Kirche and Tabitha. "What are yo-"

'EXPLOSION!'

Both girls dove out the way, pressing themselves into the ground and covered their heads as they waited for the blast. After a few moments, they raised their heads to find everyone bar ORANGE laughing at them. Blushing, they dusted themselves off as they rose, glaring angrily at him. "If she can't do magic, why did you jump out the way?"

"Because we didn't want to be blown to pieces!"

"Ah, correct me if I'm wrong but that is still magic, no? And as I've mentioned to Louise, removing limbs is a nice easy way to be rid of pesky mages."

"What!?" Kirche exclaimed, outraged. "You can't just tell her to do things like that!"

Tabitha didn't say anything, adjusting her grip on her staff as she waited for his response.

Eyeing the two of them he groaned as he stood up, joints popping and clicking as he rose. "Nothing is off-limits when you're fighting to win. I was like you once; full of optimism, honour and pride. Thought I was the best of the best, Champion of the world, nothing could touch me!" chuckling to himself as he made a grand sweeping gesture. The laughter tailed off as the smile changed to a pained expression. "Years ago, I failed to resolve an incident in a timely manner and a lot of people died in the aftermath. I can advise her based what I've learned over the years, what she does with said advice is her call, not mine."

There was a long silence before it was broken by Tabitha. "What happened?"

ORANGE mulled the question over before sighing heavily. "I apologise, but it's not something I'm willing to talk about at this moment in time. However, if you stop antagonising Louise, you're more than welcome to join our discussion and help yourself to some food."

The three girls exchanged looks with each other before nodding. "We'll join you."

"Great!" he said happily, offering his hand. "Let me formally introduce myself then. I'm ORANGE, travelling Pokémon Champion."

"As I mentioned before, I am Kirche Augusta Frederica von Anhalt Zerbst!"

"Tabitha."

"Pleasure to meet you both," he said, gently shaking their hands. "Now, let's get stuck in, shall we?"

 **-Chapter End-**

I couldn't think of a better way of introducing Kirche and Tabitha into the story and I really wanted to do it before meeting Derflinger and the Familiar Festival.

Thank you for reading this chapter, any feedback would be much appreciated.


	6. Chapter 6

**To be a Pokémon Champion - Chapter 6**

 **DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING.**

Hello everyone! I wasn't expecting to have another chapter out so soon, but here we are!

I'm also looking for a new Beta Reader, so if you're interested please PM me and I'll get back to you.

Once again, shout out to Bass and Relden Calder for helping me (a lot) with this chapter.

GLOSSARY

"Hi." - Halkegnian language (going to assume it's French)

" _Hi."_ \- Thoughts in Halkegnian language

'Hi.' - Kanto language (going to assume it's Japanese)

' _Hi._ ' - Thoughts in Kanto language

'Hi.' \- Spell/Pokémon move

*Hi* - Signing

-Hi- - Pokédex

REPLIES TO REVIEWS

Venomous Dragons Bite \- We'll find out in a few chapters time!

NuggetMuncher \- Thanks, I hope you enjoy this chapter too.

New Universe Returns - Derf shows up in this chapter, let me know what you think!

Captiosous \- TYSON's definitely within the first 3 Generations :)

SilentMech \- I've not seen/read Sekirei, but sounds interesting - the John from accounting bit had me laughing haha!

MasterXMaster \- I'm basing it more off the Anime for the moment, but I'm hoping to make a start on the Light Novels soon. In terms of the worlds, it's of the Pokémon - Halkegenia variety, and there will be artefacts/Pokémon showing up here and there.

Descriptions of Pokémon come from Bulbapedia.

 **-Chapter Start-**

Two weeks into her training Louise had decided it was time for a break, and managed to convince ORANGE that they should go and visit the nearby town seeing as he had never been there before. While excited at the prospect of showing him the sights and sounds, she and NOAH was currently stood watching her mentor attempt to put a saddle onto a non-cooperating EDDIE. "Are you almost done?"

"Almost … there…." ducking under underneath an errant claw, he pulled and made the final connection. "There," he breathed, wiping the sweat off his brow. "Done!" he exclaimed happily, jumping out the way of EDDIE's jaws that were occupying the space he had just vacated. "Right," clapping his hands together he looked expectantly at Louise. "You can ride EDDIE and I'll ride NOAH."

"W-what? Why do I have to ride EDDIE? He doesn't look too happy at the idea…" she tailed off as the POKéMON glared at her.

"Because he'll have thrown me off long before reaching our destination. Plus, you didn't put the world's most uncomfortable saddle on him so you're good in his books."

"Why do you even put it on him if he hates it so much?"

"This is just a spare I have in case that one he likes is lost, damaged or stolen. The harness in question is currently gathering dust in another dimension, so he'll have to suck it up and live with it for now. I'll make him another one when I get the chance," he muttered, eyeing the current saddle.

"Why aren't we flying together then? He won't throw the both of us off!"

"Because on this beautiful morning we are going to have a race! EDDIE versus NOAH, the skies versus good ol' mud, wings versus legs - who will win!?"

"You're way too excited for this," she deadpanned whilst the two participants perked up, excited at the thought of beating their teammate.

"What?" he replied defensively, moving across to NOAH. "They enjoy little competitions like these! For example; DAISHI, EDDIE and LEE love to wrestle, INARI, PYTHIA and NOAH regularly enter beauty contests, whilst JACK, GWGRI and TAGSIE enjoy holding scaring contests. Anyway, while EDDIE is slower than NOAH, he can go in a straight line whereas she'll have to slow down for corners, avoid traffic, blah blah bah."

Louise sighed as she made her over to the grumbling fire salamander, shaking her head bemusedly. "Would you mind if I flew with you today EDDIE?" After sizing her up, he huffed and nodded begrudgingly, crouching down so she could climb on. After getting settled, she looked down at ORANGE who had made himself comfortable on top of a pawing NOAH. "So what now?" she called out to him.

After receiving nods from both racers, he cleared his throat. "Ready …. GO!" Louise screamed as EDDIE launched himself into the air while ORANGE whooped with glee as NOAH took off. "See you there losers!" he called out behind him.

"Oh no you don't, let's beat them EDDIE!" she shouted into EDDIE's ear. Roaring in response, he shot forward, closing in on the opposing team.

* * *

"Looooooser!"

ORANGE scowled, looking away from Louise. "We were held up by caravans! The most you got held up by is a mid-morning snack for EDDIE!"

"You got beat by someone slower that you," she laughed, giving a thumbs up to EDDIE. "Are you pouting? D'aww, you'll win next time," consoling him by patting his lower back.

Swatting away her hand, he looked around the square they had finished the race in. "So, what's the plan for today then?" he said, keeping an eye out on some of the more adventurous children who were slowly edging their way towards them.

"Firstly, we'll go the weapons shop for you-"

"Let me just stop you there. Weapons? Why? Are you not seeing the giant flying flame salamander that can melt rock no problem lying next to me?" pointing to a disinterested EDDIE.

"And he was nowhere to be seen when Guiche decided to drop you," she replied patiently. "You need something to defend yourself with!"

"I alrea-" NOAH barked at her Trainer and nudged him forward with her nose. When he resisted and pushed her back, she planted her paw on his back and shoved him into Louise. "Fine! Fine. I'll come with you but I ain't buying Tauroshit." Cursing under his breath, he sent out INARI and motioned for her to follow.

"Why is she coming with us?"

"Because she is the least likely to get in the way of our activities whilst attracting the least amount attention. And she wants some new brushes for her fur."

"...I'm pretty sure a golden-white fox with nine tails will attract a fair amount of attention."

"Less than say, DAISHI, who will punch his way through anything he can't fit through," he shrugged. "HATHOR has a habit of accidentally setting perches - in this case roofs - on fire when he flutters his wings. GWGRI tends to-"

"You've made your point," she said hastily, scratching INARI behind the ears. "If you're both ready, then let's make a move!" Getting a hold of his forearm, she began to drag him in the direction of the nearest street.

After sending NOAH a glare that promised punishment later (one which she chose to avoid by looking at the beautiful fountain beside her), he sighed as Louise lead him towards their first stop, catching glimpses of wares in shop windows and market stalls as they sped past. "Don't you think that we should slow down a little!?" He cried out, narrowly avoiding a speeding cart taking off the front of his face and hurled abuse at the driver. Louise suddenly stopped, causing a distracted ORANGE to trip over her and hit the floor. "It should be somewhere here, Kirche said it was right next to Viemont's elixer shop…" she trailed off, bobbing and weaving around passing patrons find the shop.

"Look behind you," ORANGE groaned, his reply muffled as he slowly peeled himself off the cobblestones.

Louise turned round, her face lighting up as she found what she was looking for. "Great! Let's g-" She stared at ORANGE, who looked like it had gotten into a fight with the ground and lost, leaving an angry imprint of the cobbles on the right hand side of his face. Wincing, she motioned to his injury. "You've ah ... got something ... there..." she paled at his stony expression as she and INARI hurried inside. Tentatively touching his face, he hissed in pain and cursed loudly, causing several passers-by to stare in shock. After taking a while to calm down and compose himself, he begrudgingly followed them inside after muttering his apologies.

* * *

Stopping slightly as he entered, he saw Louise at the far end of the room experimentally swinging what looked to be a rapier whilst the man behind the counter was extremely enthusiastic in selling his wares. "That is one of our finest blades Miss," he gushed, watching keenly as she swung the sword in a chopping motion. "It would make a fine companion for you during your travels!"

Louise spotted ORANGE eyeing up a nasty looking mace on the wall and called him over. "You'll like this!" she said excitedly, sheathing the sword and pressed the hilt into his hand. "Give it a go!" Despite his scepticism he decided to humour her, drawing the blade out,he held it along his eyeline and inspected the straightness of the blade as INARI watched on with interest. "What do you think?"

After admiring the gleaming weapon and its gemstone encrusted hilt and pommel, he sheathed it with a heavy sigh. "While it is a pretty little thing, it's not what I need."

Her face fell. "What!? Why not?"

"When you're in a small area such as a cave where DAISHI's accidentally dropped a fist with enough force to destroy the sizeable boulder in your way and smack the sleeping POKéMON underneath it right in the kisser, you'll sharp find that you have neither the time nor space to use it as the now (rightfully) aggrieved POKéMON is busy rearranging your face."

"You look like you need a doctor, not a weapon," the salesman grumbled, unhappy at the loss of a sale to a noble who was drawn to the gilded blade like a VENOMOTH to a flame. Adjusting his posture, he shifted his attention to ORANGE.. "Nevertheless, if you're looking for something in confined spaces, might I suggest one of our daggers? Forged from the best metals and enchanted by the finest mages, you won't find a better blade!" he exclaimed.

Rolling his eyes at the theatrics, he nodded and motioned for the the man to hand him a weapon. Sighing at the ornate blade in his hand, he frowned as he judged its weight and balance. Scowling, he drove the dagger into the counter. "It's all wrong, who the hell made this piece of shit? I'm not after ornaments," he growled at the spluttering salesman. As ORANGE tried to remove it, the handle came clean off the tang, leaving the blade embedded in the wood. Staring at the handle in his hand in disbelief, he slowly looked back up at the so-called weapons master.

"Are you trying to sell us knock-offs?" Louise demanded angrily. "I should never have listened to Kirche!"

Before the salesman could reply, ORANGE grabbed his collar and hauled him over the counter, holding him up easily with one arm. "No," he started slowly, peering at the struggling human. "This has nothing to do with Kirche," shaking the man to get his attention. "Have I wronged you in any way since I've stepped into your shop?"

The salesman shook his head feverently. "N-no Sir!"

"Have you any grievances against the Vallière family?"

His face paled as he stopped struggling against ORANGE's grip, eyes locking onto an angry Louise. "She-"

"Oh? You know that name? Can you imagine what her mother would do to you?" Chuckling darkly at the thought, he gave the man another shake to regain his attention. "Now the way I see it, you've just tried to kill me by trying to sell me a blade that wasn't fit for purpose. Would you agree with that statement Louise, INARI?"

Both females nodded in agreement.

"While I could just throttle you and be done with it or watch her mother take several pounds of flesh from your bones," pausing for added effect he glared at his mewling captee, "I have something much better in mind. You see INARI here?"

"Yesyesyesyesshe'safinespecimen-"

"She can curse you for 1000 years."

Whatever colour was remaining in the man's face left faster than an ABRA using TELEPORT on Route 25.

"Can you imagine a man, all alone, in a space filled with instruments ranging from causing severe discomfort to piercing holes and breaking skulls with a curse of a 1000 years? Either the man in question is going to have a very short life, or he is going to have a very long, painful one."

"I'msorryI'msorryIthoughtyouweren'tgoingtouseitand-"

ORANGE laughed in disbelief, staring at him incredulously. "You think I would come in here and wave some bits of metal around, just to stroke my ego? I would buy it because it would look great on my hip or that it would help me impress the ladies? And before you even go there, I certainly don't need to compensate for anything."

INARI yipped, reminding ORANGE he was in the presence of women and that kind of talk wouldn't be tolerated. Snorting at the impressive shade of red Louise was currently wearing, he nodded at them before returning his attention to the salesman. "So, what do I do with you?" He mused.

"He could give us a free weapon?" Louise suggested, looking uncomfortable and regretting her decision to bring her mentor here.

Quirking an eyebrow, he turned back to Louise. "You think would be a suitable reparation?"

"No, I just want to be out of this wretched shop," she replied bluntly, meeting his angry gaze.

Chuckling, he dropped the struggling salesman to the floor. "You heard the lady. What can we take?"

"Try the crate over there," he rasped, gingerly massaging his neck as he pointed to the corner.

"They're second-hand blades! They-"

"-ve seen use and are therefore more trustworthy than any of the weapons that he was peddling earlier," ORANGE interrupted, motioning to the crate. "Seeing as this was your idea, why don't you pick a blade?"

Nodding slowly, she made her way towards the corner, rubbing her hands anxiously. "Now let's see …" she muttered, carefully sifting through the various weapons that had been dumped unceremoniously inside the crate. After searching for a while, her hand found the handle of a sword sheathed in a battered and dirty scabbard. Pausing in her search, she ran her fingers over the pommel and the well worn leather. Frowning as she tightened her grip, she shook the blade free from the the other weapons and pulled it out of the crate.

"You want that thing? Out of everything in this shop?" ORANGE asked, blowing the rest of his breath through his nose. "Did you not listen to a word I said earlier?"

Choosing not to say anything she drew the weapon, wincing as the rusty blade ground against the inside of the scabbard. Upon closer inspection, it seemed as if the rust was only on the surface - nothing a good clean wouldn't fix. Swinging the blade experimentally, she nodded to himself in satisfaction. "I did, but I want this one."

Sighing in exasperation, he rubbed his face irritably. "Just because you want it doesn't mean it's going to be any good for you - that's like INARI eating CYNTHIA's bunch of grapes and proceeding to throw up all over the rug that was gifted from royalty," ORANGE grumbled, earning him a light slap from one of INARI's tails. "Oi, do you know how much it cost me to get that damn thing cleaned? t was black! Black! What did I even feed you that morning?"

"While I certainly prefer a feminine touch, don't get a say in this life-changing decision?" the blade squawked, its guard squeaking as it moved to its voice.

The room was silent as everyone stared at the blade in Louise's hand. "Why is it talking?" he asked Louise as he continued to stare at it.

"INARI can curse someone for 1000 years, HATHOR can substitute the sun and LEE can jump over an entire castle without breaking a sweat, but you're freaked out by a rusty bit of metal that just so happens to talk?"

"I am not just some rusty bit of metal!" it replied, affronted by the statement. "I am The Great Derflinger!"

There was a silence in the room as everyone tried and failed to remember the name. "Haven't heard of you," Louise replied, shaking her head.

ORANGE shrugged, looking down at the blade. "He? It? Whatever the swords pronoun is, I guess Derflinger talks and is coming home with us."

-The slot for the mildly irritating talking companion within the party has already filled!-

"Now listen here kiddo!" The sword interrupted. "I'm a six thousand year old talking sword forged and enchanted by a mage to serve his stupidly overpowered magical warrior girlfriend of a familiar. Are YOU a familiar?"

Louise shook her head. "Newp."

"Do you instinctively know how to wield any weapon ever conceived just by coming into contact with it?"

Again, Louise shook her head. "Newp."

"Then piss off and let me wait for my next partner." The blade snapped.

ORANGE scoffed. "And exactly how long have you been waiting for?"he asked, approaching the two. Scowling, he gently prised the sword from her hand and brought the hilt to his face. "Surely it's better to be in the company of good people rather than gathering dust and rust in the corner whilst watching someone swindle their way to an early grave?"

Derflinger opened his guard to say something, but left it open for a few moments before closing it slowly. "Who did you say you were again?"

"I didn't. My name's ORANGE, and I'm an ex-POKéMON Champion."

"Why the 'ex'?"

"I relinquished my title so that I could challenge the Champion in the next region."

"And what does being a 'Champion' involve?"

ORANGE sighed heavily. "Well, to be the Champion you first have to defeat all other competing Trainers in battle. After that, you have to defeat the Elite Four and the current region's Champion - if there is one holding that position. After that, it's a lengthy interview and lengthy probation period to see if you cut the mustard. Resolving POKéMON or political disputes, hosting seminars, teaching the younger generation about becoming a Trainer, aiding research and development and promoting the League and region are all part of the job."

"You just left all of that to pursue your own goals? Do you not honour your commitments as a Champion?"

"Don't question my commitment. Every region I've represented has benefited from my work."

"Oh?" Derflinger challenged, raising his proverbial eyebrow. "I don't suppose you would so kind as to provide an example?"

"Destroying a cult that was 5 seconds away from raising a POKéMON that would've absorbed all the surrounding life force in not only the region I was standing in, but well beyond its borders."

The blade scoffed. "I don't believe you."

"They estimate at least 200 cult members died in the blast, not that there was anything really left to count afterwards; the damage to the surrounding area was last calculated at around 1.73 billion, without including the cost to the environment which is unlikely to ever recover," he said dryly.

Louise gasped at the count, looking horrified at ORANGE. "What … did you do?"

"I did what I had to," he shrugged, looking resigned. "I chose the biggest, baddest POKéMON under my command and ordered him to obliterate everyone and everything in and around that facility."

"Why didn't you reason with them, or try to bring them to justice?" Louise asked angrily, storming up to ORANGE.

ORANGE groaned. "Sweet ARCEUS, I get enough of this Tauroshit from PURPLE," he muttered under his breath. "Listen," he said impatiently. "I gave them one chance to surrender - I even said what I was going to do them if they didn't! Lo and behold, the bastards didn't listen to me and let the timer run down to 5 seconds, after which point I responded by erasing both them and that weird cocoon from existence."

"... That's a pretty heavy-handed response," the blade muttered. "That's not the only time you've taken life, have you?" he asked quietly.

ORANGE breathed in through his nose, mulling over his response before sighing heavily. "No, it's not."

"Do you ever regret it? The loss of life and the irreparable damage you cause?"

ORANGE shrugged. "Ask PURPLE." he grunted.

"Who's PURPLE?" Louise asked curiously.

"Someone who has the answer you're looking for," he replied bluntly. "Anyway, moving on from this topic I don't want to talk about, I have a proposition for you Oh Mighty Derflinger."

"I'm not interested in joining someone who so readily takes lives, even if they are for noble reasons without being willing to face the consequences."

"You're a weapon that's impaled, maimed and killed hundreds, if not thousands of people and other beings. Have you met with the families of the bereaved to tell them you were personally responsible for their deaths, or did you lay the blame at your welder's feet? Have you seen first hand the destruction you've wrought upon the land and made every effort to repair the damage done, or did you choose to hide in your scabbard? Have you forced yourself to stand in front of the entire world to lay bare your shortcomings, or did you choose to be silent and inanimate?"

Derflinger didn't respond, causing ORANGE to scoff and pass the blade back to LOUISE. "I don't think you have had to face any consequences for what you've done during your life," he said quietly, glaring at the blade. "Believe me, I know of consequences. Thousands have died during the one time I didn't act, and I refuse to make that mistake again," clenching his fists as he started off into the distance. INARI padded over towards ORANGE and rested her head against his legs, her tails waving slowly behind him. Smiling gently, he knelt down and ran his calloused hands through her fur. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make you worry." INARI yipped and nuzzled in the crook of his neck, causing him to chuckle and pat her back in response "Gotcha," he grinned.

Derflinger attempted to cough to gain ORANGE's attention. "So what is this … proposition you have for me, Ser ORANGE?"

"First off, I'm not a Ser. Secondly, you should ask Louise seeing as she picked you out of that ARCEUS-forsaken barrel after all," he drawled, nodded at his current wielder.

"Why don't you join me?" Louise asked the blade. "We may not necessarily agree on his methods of dealing with things," she said, nodding in his direction, "but at this moment in time I don't have caught or befriended any POKéMON of my own, and I could do someone teaching me self defence with a blade."

"Why don't you ask him?" Derflinger asked irritably.

"As good as he his with his dagger, I need someone who's had decades - centuries, even - of experience fighting against all manner of weapons."

"Hah!" the blade scoffed, but with the state of its guard it came out as an ear-piercing squeak, causing everyone to flinch. "Don't try to low-ball me, girlie! Centuries? Try millennia! I am the Great Derflinger! Other swords are as butter before me! Axes? Axe me about the Vindian Berserker! Polearms? They have reach, but I have flexibility! Bows? That's a mighty fancy name for firewood! Daggers?" Derflinger hocked and pretended to spit. "Why wait for a death of a thousand cuts when one will do! No other weapon can compare to the Great Derflinger!"

"So I'll take that as a yes?" Louise asked dryly.

Derflinger snorted. "Now listen here, Ms. Vallière-"

"Just Louise is fine."

"Louise," he repeated slowly. "I may enjoy my ego being polished as much as I do my steel, but don't think you can trick me to do your bidding by merely appealing to it. It takes much more than that to manipulate one such as I!" The blade paused as it mulled over the options. "That said, I will acquiesce your request for tutelage. I see potential in you young lady, and I'd consider it a great shame if this gentleman took all that you could offer this world and lead you down a path ill-befitting of your position and talent. You need a more ... refined influence in your training. And as you say, who better than the Great Derflinger to provide it!"

"I don't know whether that's a win on our part," ORANGE muttered to himself, shaking his head.

"Of course it is!" Louise cried out, poking him lightly with the sword. "We" she emphasised, glaring at ORANGE, "would be honoured to have you by our side."

ORANGE's protests were cut off with a quick jab of the sword.

 **-Chapter End-**

Thank you for reading this chapter, any feedback would be much appreciated.


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